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Looks like US lawmakers aren’t the only ones feuding with TikTok.
Last week, Universal Music Group pulled its catalog of music, which includes songs by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Drake, from the platform after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.
In an open letter about the decision, Universal blamed TikTok’s artist compensation terms, and mentioned online safety as well as “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI” as reasons for the decision.
“TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth,” Universal, which is one of three major music labels in the US, said.
In its own statement, TikTok accused Universal of putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” and said TikTok has been a “free promotional and discovery vehicle” for the label’s artists.
Neither Universal nor TikTok responded to Marketing Brew’s requests for comment.
The move has marketers watching the developments closely, as it could affect brands and creators, as well as the broader social media landscape, agency execs told Marketing Brew.
Ryan Ku, SVP and head of strategy at agency Movers+Shakers, said the “developing tension” between TikTok and content owners like Universal may prompt brands to change how they engage with audiences and creators, he said.
“Where this impacts brands is, a lot of the influencers and creators that we and other brands work with build their audience oftentimes using these artists’ music,” he said. “So there’s a downstream effect.”
For the moment, agencies will still have plenty of music to use on social. Ku said Movers+Shakers often creates original music and audio for its clients to use, which he says can help prevent issues that can come from licensing third-party content.
“It’s rare for a brand to put their brand into a piece of content that has licensed music, like Taylor Swift,” he said.
Mark Schectman, social media director at agency GSD&M, which runs TikTok accounts for brands like Stanley, said the loss of Universal’s music catalog hasn’t really affected the agency’s work so far, in part because like Movers+Shakers, the agency usually uses a commercial music library rather than licensing a specific artist’s work.
“Most of what we do on the platform is fairly organic, and best practice there is to not necessarily license a particular track for one or two TikToks that are more organic in nature,” Schectman told Marketing Brew.
For now, Universal’s decision isn’t worrying GSD&M’s clients about what they can do on the platform. But the dispute could lead to a “domino effect that does start affecting other artists and how music is utilized by influencers and creators and end users on the platform in general,” Schectman said.
As the developments continue, it’s clear not everyone is on Universal’s side.
“Being honest, I think it’s a pretty short-sighted move on Universal’s part,” Ku said.