TikTok and Universal Music Group today announced a “global alliance” that guarantees compensation to record artists and songwriters when their songs are used on the short-form video platform. On top of that, TikTok users will now also be able to include clips from Universal Music’s full music collection.
It’s a step for both businesses that should be beneficial. On the side of TikTok, its users will have a wider library of songs, and on the side of UMG, its artists will not only get compensation but also have the chance to be the next viral sensation. It’s not unusual for a song on TikTok to blow up in popularity, such as Old Town Road by Lil Nas X or Savage Road by Megan Thee Stallion (There are a lot more examples here).
With other firms, such as Sony Music, Warner Music Group and Merlin, a network of mainly indie labels, TikTok has made similar deals. Last year, it also added Prince’s entire archive. All this offers a huge collection of songs for TikTok users to use while still avoiding licencing disagreements.
