UMG And TikTok Have A New Deal, And The War of Words Is Now A Lovefest

(Hypebot) — The rancorous public battle UMG and Tikok has ended with a “new multi-dimensional licensing settlement that can ship important industry-leading advantages for UMG’s world household of artists, songwriters, and labels and can return their music to TikTok’s billion-plus world neighborhood.”

The settlement consists of unspecified enhancements in remuneration and attribution for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional alternatives, and protections regarding unauthorized generative AI.

The deal additionally guarantees new monetization alternatives using TikTok’s rising e-commerce capabilities and enhancements to creator instruments, together with its “Add to Music App,” enhanced information and analytics, and built-in ticketing capabilities.

Whereas UMG artists might have entry to a few of these instruments first, presumably most will ultimately open to most or all creators.

Greed” to “Gratitude”: The Warfare Of Phrases is now a Lovefest

Simply over three months in the past, UMG attacked TikTok’s “unwillingness to appropriately compensate artists and songwriters, shield human artists from the dangerous results of AI, and tackle on-line issues of safety for TikTok’s customers.”

Now Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO, Common Music Group says, “This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the worth of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the inventive neighborhood. We stay up for collaborating with the group at TikTok to additional the pursuits of our artists and songwriters and drive innovation in fan engagement whereas advancing social music monetization.”

Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer and EVP, Common Music Group, mentioned: “Creating transformational partnerships with vital innovators is vital to UMG’s dedication to selling an setting during which artists and songwriters prosper. We’re gratified to resume our relationship with TikTok predicated on important developments in business and advertising alternatives in addition to protections supplied to our industry-leading roster on their platform. With the consistently evolving ways in which social interplay, fan engagement, music discovery and inventive ingenuity converge on TikTok, we see nice potential in our collaboration going ahead.”

 

For its half, TikTok accused UMG of “greed above the pursuits of their artists and songwriters” by taking music off a platform with “properly over a billion customers that serves as a free promotional and discovery automobile for his or her expertise.”

Yesterday, Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, mentioned: “Music is an integral a part of the TikTok ecosystem and we’re happy to have discovered a path ahead with Common Music Group. We’re dedicated to working collectively to drive worth, discovery and promotion for all of UMG’s wonderful artists and songwriters, and deepen their capability to develop, join and interact with the TikTok neighborhood.”

Ole Obermann, TikTok’s International Head of Music Enterprise Improvement, mentioned: “We’re delighted to welcome UMG and UMPG again to TikTok. We stay up for working collectively to forge a path that creates deeper connections between artists, creators, and followers. Specifically, we are going to work collectively to guarantee that AI instruments are developed responsibly to allow a brand new period of musical creativity and fan engagement whereas defending human creativity”.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Company, and a Berklee Faculty Of Music professor.