Universal Music Group once again authorizes the use of its songs on TikTok after three months of litigation

Having failed to agree on a new agreement before the current one expired at the end of January, Universal decided to deprive TikTok of all content for which the group controls the rights.

The record company Universal Music Group (UMG) will once again authorize the use and distribution of its musical pieces on TikTok, after a licensing agreement with the social network which puts an end to three months of litigation. The two parties did not reveal the financial terms of this new contract, mentioned in a press release published during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

Universal notably has in its catalog titles from the most popular singer of the moment, Taylor Swift, as well as the Beatles, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Stevie Wonder, BTS and Billie Eilish. At the beginning of April, Universal authorized the return of Taylor Swift’s music to the platform, but she remained the only UMG artist in this case, before the transaction announced Thursday.

Supervising generative AI

The new agreement plans to use the technology as well as the marketing and promotional tools of the social network to “improve the remuneration of authors and artists“The two groups also want to develop.”new monetization opportunities“music from hosted artists, particularly through online commerce and ticket sales integrated into the platform.

TikTok and UMG have also agreed to regulate the use of so-called generative artificial intelligence (AI), which makes it possible to create content from existing music, without it having been written or recorded by the artist himself. The social network has therefore undertaken to remove any content generated without authorization by AI. This subject had been one of the points of friction which had led to these three months of impasse.

TikTok at Congress

“Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are happy to have been able to find common ground with Universal Music Group“, reacted the general director of the social network, Shou Chew, quoted in the press release.

TikTok is under threat from a law passed in Congress at the end of April and signed into law by President Biden. It aims to force the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social network, under penalty of being banned in the United States. The promoters of this text claim suspicion of manipulation and spying on American users by Chinese authorities via TikTok.