TikTok

Taylor Swift's music is 'back on TikTok' after record label feud

Taylor Swift's music is 'back on TikTok' after record label feud
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Taylor Swift's music is reportedly back on TikTok after Universal Music pulled its catalogue from the popular social media app.

Ahead of their agreement to license content on TikTok, Universal accused the social media app of bullying - while TikTok dismissed the accusations as "false narrative and rhetoric".

After the deal expired on 31 January, TikTok removed Universal's songs from its platform as well as muting any videos featuring songs from their catalogue. It meant music from some of the world's most popular artists was removed from TikTok's library.

According to reports from the Financial Times, Swift's return to TikTok has been in the works for a while.

Thanks to a deal made in 2018 with Universal Music, Swift owns the copyright to her songs. This gives her control of her music is available, unlike other artists.

In an open letter shared online, titled 'Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok', Universal said it had pressed on "three critical issues".

These were payment for artists and songwriters, protection from the "harmful effects" of AI and online safety.

The letter went on to state TikTok had responded to the requests made by Universal, "first with indifference, and then with intimidation".

TikTok hit back, saying the biggest music label group in the world put "greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters".

The social media app added that Universal Music walked 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".

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