In a recent development, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has failed to reach a new licensing agreement with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
As a result, UMPG songs are set to be removed from the popular video-sharing platform by the end of February. This decision will have a significant impact on Mavin Music, a Nigerian music label that recently had its majority stake acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG).
UMG’s investment in Mavin Music was aimed at amplifying the label’s operations in Nigeria through UMG’s global network of labels and businesses. With this acquisition, UMG will play a crucial role in producing, marketing, and distributing songs from all artists under Mavin Music.
However, due to the licensing tussle between UMG and TikTok, songs from Mavin artists like Rema, whose track “Calm Down” gained popularity on TikTok, won’t be available for content creation on the platform. This decision will impact how fans engage with Mavin Music and its artists, particularly the Gen Z audience who are active users of TikTok.
They won’t be able to share music from Mavin artists’ future albums, including any singles released before their arrival on the social media app. According to industry sources, around 4 million songs affiliated with UMPG writers will no longer be legally licensed on TikTok, affecting up to 80% of the “relevant music repertoire” on the platform.
The impact of this decision extends beyond Mavin Music and UMPG. TikTok, known for its music-driven content, will face challenges without access to songs from popular artists distributed by UMG. The IFPI’s list of 2023’s top revenue-generating global recording artists includes nine artists distributed by UMG, such as Taylor Swift, Drake, and Lana Del Rey.
It remains to be seen how TikTok will navigate this situation, especially with UMPG’s entire catalogue expected to be removed on March 1.
Article updated 1 week ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
