Music Titan, Universal Music Group (UMG), which is home to many of your favorite musicians, including Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, and Wizkid, has withdrawn from TikTok.
UMG’s music began to be removed from the app on Thursday morning, leaving TikTok in utter stillness following a recent showdown between the massive global music label and the popular social media network.
The drama unfolded just a day before UMG’s licensing contract with TikTok was set to expire. UMG didn’t hold back, and they made their dissatisfaction public with a fiery open letter. They accused TikTok of not offering fair compensation for their music and allowing AI-generated tunes to flood the platform, which, in turn, diminished the earnings of real, hardworking musicians.
TikTok didn’t take this lying down and responded with strong words, accusing UMG of prioritising their own greed over the interests of their artists and songwriters. They pointed out that UMG decided to walk away from a platform with well over a billion users, a platform that had been instrumental in promoting and discovering their talent for free.
The fallout was swift and brutal. Recordings by UMG artists vanished from TikTok’s music library, and existing videos using UMG tracks had their audio silenced entirely. Users were left frustrated, unable to add Universal songs to their new videos.
Music enthusiasts in Nigeria will be keeping a close eye on this drama to see how UMG and TikTok’s feud plays out in the days ahead.
