Universal Music Group, TikTok Strike New Licensing Deal For the AI Era

Universal Music Group and TikTok have unveiled a new multiyear licensing deal to cover royalties from big name artists and creators like Yungblud, Drake and Lady Gaga.

The latest agreement builds on a 2024 partnership to ensure creative and commercial opportunities for UMG’s artists and songwriters through expanded marketing and advertising campaigns involving TikTok. That deal followed the two companies going through a months-long and very public standoff over the royalties TikTok paid to UMG’s artists, with the music giant ultimately pulling the music from its roster of artists and accusing the video social media giant of “trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”

UMG and TikTok struck a more collegial tone on Friday as the music label’s artists, songwriters and creators will continue to get access to the social media platform’s global audience for business opportunities.

“The new deal also extends TikTok and UMG’s groundbreaking commitment to AI (artificial intelligence) protections that promote human artistry and ensure platform economics effectively flow through to artists and songwriters. TikTok and UMG will work together to remove unauthorized AI-generated music,” both companies said in a statement.

On Thursday, UMG and Spotify unveiled an agreement for a new feature that allows premium subscribers to make AI-generated covers and remixes of their favorite songs from participating artists and creators. UMG and Spotify are touting the landmark AI deal and interactive features as a new revenue driver for music creators as they profit from the streams the fan-made content generates. UMG has previously established AI deals with the likes of AI music generator Udio, Splice and Nvidia.

The new UMG agreement with TikTok will also see the two companies get deeper into fan engagement experiences and artist development initiatives, to include a spotlight on emerging artists from all over the world. “We’re proud of the pioneering work we’ve done with TikTok to create wide-ranging benefits for our artists and songwriters. With this new agreement, we look forward to driving innovative new fan experiences, while further improving social media monetization, and protecting and amplifying human artistry,” Michael Nash, executive vp and chief digital officer at UMG, said in a statement.

Music has played an increasing role on the TikTok platform, and the social media player expressed its commitment to artists and songwriters growing by engaging with its global community.

Tracy Gardner, global head of music business development at TikTok, added in a statement: “We’re excited to take our partnership with UMG to the next level, and build on the strong foundation we’ve already created together for artists, songwriters and fans. TikTok is a unique platform where music discovery, culture and fandom intersect, and this agreement will help create even more opportunities for artists and songwriters to engage audiences, grow their communities and achieve career success on a global scale.”