When the Music Stops: TikTok and UMG’s Licensing Dispute Leaves Users in Silence

If you’ve been scrolling your TikTok’s For You Page and have wondered why certain videos are muted, they likely had audio licensed by Universal Music Group (UMG). TikTok stated they have removed all of UMG’s music from their billion+ user platform. TikTok has a built-in music library for users to pick sounds from; now that UMG has pulled its catalog, millions of videos are affected. The videos themselves will stay up but will have no audio.

UMG, in a fiery open letter , stated negotiations broke down primarily over concerns with AI-generated content, compensation for songwriters, and online safety for TikTok’s users. Universal took significant issue with one of TikTok’s new features, where users could generate songs using AI without ever leaving the app. According to UMG, AI-generated content “massively dilutes the royalty pool for human artists” and stated that it is “nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI.”

In response to Universal, TikTok accused the music giant of putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters” and further said Universal had “chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.”

TikTok has a point. Their platform has been used by artists to build excitement for new releases and has even revitalized old music like Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit “Dreams”, and Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary”. The short video clips, often paired with a song and dance, can take off—with the most popular videos often reaching millions of views. TikTok had a major role in launching Lil Nas X’s country hit “Old Town Road.”

Many famous country artists are signed to UMG or one of its subsidiaries, including Josh Turner, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, George Strait, Brothers Osborne, Reba McEntire, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, and many more. To check out their full catalog, visit universalmusic.com .

It wouldn’t be the first time a label pulled content from a tech company—in 2008, Warner Music pulled thousands of videos from YouTube. After nine months, Warner agreed to return the videos after YouTube agreed to share advertising revenue.

The standoff between the two giants raises pivotal questions about the future of music licensing, artist compensation, and the role of social media in the music industry’s ecosystem. As they both stand their ground, the broader implications for artists, songwriters, and fans remain uncertain. The digital age demands solutions to these longstanding issues, and the resolution of this dispute could set the stage for future negotiations. Whether TikTok and UMG can find a middle ground remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the outcome will influence how music is discovered, shared, and monetized in the era of social media.