Millions of songs could disappear from TikTok after the world's biggest music company, Universal Music Group (UMG), accused the social media platform of bullying it into an unfair deal.
ADVERTISEMENTUniversal Music Group says TikTok had tried to "bully" and "intimidate" it into an offer which pays artists and songwriters a "fraction of the rate" offered by other platforms.
With UMG's contract with TikTok set to expire within 24 hours, the group has threatened, in a scathing open letter, to pull its entire music catalog from the platform.
This could mean users may no longer be able to access millions of songs by top artists, including Taylor Swift, via the app.
"Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music," the letter reads.
"We honour our responsibilities with the utmost seriousness. Intimidation and threats will never cause us to shirk those responsibilities," it adds.
The group also accuses the Chinese social media giant of failing to address other concerns, including protecting artists form the harmful effects of artificial intelligence, and ensuring the online safety of its users.
UMG says TikTok is "sponsoring artist replacement by AI" by allowing the platform to be "flooded with AI-generated recordings" and promoting AI music creation for users.
In a sign of escalating tensions, TikTok – which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance – responded to the letter accusing UMG of "self-serving interests" and of spreading a "false narrative."
"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," TikTok's statement reads.
"They have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent," it added.
