SONGS FROM THE likes of Taylor Swift, U2, and The Weeknd are set to be pulled from TikTok after a breakdown in contract talks with Universal Music Group.

Both sides have been discussing the terms of a new agreement, with the existing contract set to expiring today.

The deal has not been renewed and it’s understood music will begin to be pulled from the social media platform over the coming days. 

Universal Music Group (UMG) has published an open letter on “why we must call time out on TikTok”.

The UMG letter begins by remarking that its “core mission” is to “help our artists and songwriters attain their greatest creative and commercial potential”.

UMG stated that in contract negotiations with TikTok, it sought reassurance on three “critical” issues: “Appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”

However, UMG accused TikTok of paying a “rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay”.

“Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music,” wrote UMG.

UMG also claimed TikTok is “sponsoring artist replacement by AI” by allowing the platform to “be flooded with AI-generated recordings”.

It also accused TikTok of having “no meaningful solutions” to the “tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform”.

UMG also cited concerns over efforts by TikTok to deal with pornographic deepfakes of artists, and remarked that efforts to combat this “equates to the digital equivalent of ‘Whack-a-Mole’”.

Swift was recently a target of such sexually explicit deepfakes, notably on the X social media platform. 

UMG added that proposals it brought to TikTok to deal with these issues have been met with “indifference, and then with intimidation”.

It is further claimed by UMG that TikTok tried to “bully” the music group into s deal which is “far less than fair market value and not reflective of [TikTok’s] exponential growth”.

Despite TikTok’s large user base, it accounts for just about one percent of UMG’s total revenue, the label said.

In response, TikTok said it was “sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists.”

“Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is 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,” added the TikTok statement.

Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms globally.