Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images and TikTok
Since music industry behemoth Universal Music Group (UMG) failed to reach a new licensing deal with TikTok last week, thousands of videos using UMG-owned music have been suddenly muted, as the corporation began removing its audios from the TikTok library, including the likes of Drake, Bad Bunny, and Taylor Swift.
Artists on UMG-owned labels, including Tyla, Jack Antonoff, and J Balvin have posted their reactions to the news, sharing feelings of disagreement and stressing the importance of social media in promoting their careers. “Yeah, I mean, my career is over, for sure,” Conan Gray, who gained a following through TikTokkers adapting his songs into viral audios, told Rolling Stone on the subject. “I’m never gonna have a hit song ever again at this rate. No, no, it’s fine.”
TikTok itself has echoed the artists’ concerns and frustrations. In a statement published Jan. 30, the company wrote: “TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.” TikTok declined to comment further when The Daily Beast reached out.