UMG Responds To TikTok Statement As Its Catalog Is Removed From Service

It really happened: At midnight, Universal Music Group, the world’s largest recording company, began pulling its whole catalog off TikTok, the video app that has been driving music trends for the past half-decade, after the parties failed to come up with a new licensing agreement. In an open letter to its artists Tuesday, UMG accused TikTok of trying to “bully” them into a deal and cited three main issues at dispute: “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”