Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Music In Africa
Published on 2024-01-31 10:35:47
UMG recently announced that negotiations for a new license with TikTok have failed, citing disagreements over fair compensation for artists and songwriters, protection from the potential adverse effects of AI on human artists, and online safety.
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has a massive global monthly active user base of 1 billion. The platform has partnerships with major music industry players like Warner Music Group and Boomplay. According to TikTok’s 2023 Music Impact Report, its users are avid music consumers and are more likely to use paid music streaming services compared to the average consumer.
In an open letter to the artist and songwriter community, UMG emphasized its commitment to supporting artists and songwriters in achieving their creative and commercial potential. The company also highlighted its efforts to update streaming’s remuneration model, which has been well-received by various partners.
UMG criticized TikTok for proposing payment rates significantly lower than those of similar major social platforms. Despite TikTok’s substantial user base and rising advertising revenue, it contributes only about 1% to UMG’s total revenue, which the company deemed as unfair compensation for artists.
UMG also expressed concern about TikTok’s acceptance and promotion of AI-generated recordings, potentially diluting the royalty pool for human artists. The platform’s inadequate handling of infringing content, content adjacency issues, hate speech, and harassment were also raised as concerns.
UMG accused TikTok of responding to their proposals with indifference and intimidation, alleging that TikTok attempted to pressure UMG into accepting a deal undervaluing music by selectively removing the music of certain developing artists while retaining that of global stars.
TikTok, in an official response, accused UMG of prioritizing their own greed over the welfare of their artists and songwriters and claimed that Universal’s actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters, and fans.
UMG has made it clear that they are dedicated to supporting and protecting the rights of artists and songwriters and will not be intimidated into accepting a deal that they believe undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters. On the other hand, TikTok argues that UMG’s actions are self-serving and not in the best interests of the artists, songwriters, and fans.
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