Universal Music Group and Tik Tok were unable to reach an agreement to allow UMG’s music to be used on the platform. It sounds surreal. Hip-hop super producer Metro Booming thinks it’s a step in the right direction.
“I love the creativity and appreciation the kids show for the music on TikTok but I don’t like the forced pandering from artists and labels that results in these lifeless and soulless records,” he shared on X.
Tik-Tok’s Response
As you can imagine, Tik-Tok isn’t happy. They’re losing rights to some of the world’s biggest artist’s catalogs. They blame UMG. “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” they shared in a statement following the announcement.
“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.
“TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”
They agreement expired at midnight on Wednesday.
Tik-Tok Change the World. For Better? Or, Worse?
One can only wonder. The platform has become the breeding ground for hit artists and records. According to Business Insider, songs that trend on Tik-Tok end up charting on Billboard 100 and Spotify Viral 50. Most music-lovers use Tik-Tok as a place to find new records.
Merging music with short-form content has re-shaped music production. Songs are shorter. The average song length has decreased by an average of 20 seconds since 2023, per Digital Music News. They aren’t as deep, either. Songs with catchy hooks and loops that spend two weeks as ear-worms before disappearing into oblivion.
Was Metro Booming’s comment a valid indictment on music in the Tik-Tok era?