On Tuesday, Cody Fry's label, UMG-owned Decca Records, had promising news for the flamboyant pop singer: his single “Things You Said” had blown up on Douyin, (mainland China's distinct equivalent of TikTok). Fry was excited, coming up with a plan to capitalize on an unexpected viral moment. The excitement ended within hours as Fry saw news of an open letter from his label claiming they had not renewed their license agreement with the social media platform and that all of the company's music would be removed next day.
The timing couldn't be worse for Fry, a smaller artist who has found success on TikTok many times before. Like many artists, Fry has enjoyed a steady career, but by no means has the influence of his label's biggest acts. As he says, that last shot at a new success that had surfaced for him a few days ago now seems to have passed.
Fry was competing for the first time American Idol in 2015, but owes much of its success to viral moments on TikTok. In 2021, his then five-year-old song “I Hear A Symphony” became a hit on the platform, helping him land a record deal with UMG-owned Decca Records. He would go gold again with a popular cover of his “Eleanor Rigby,” which similarly gained traction on the platform and would later earn him a Grammy nomination For Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocal in 2022.
As the label's music began to fall, Fry took to Instagram Reels this week, worrying about the feud between two giant labels. He supports the move to pay artists more for their work on an app that is known not to spend much money on music, but also felt disappointed that he hadn't heard a word from his label before the decision. He echoed the sentiment of many artists saying he was “a person standing between two colliding planets and I can't do anything”.
Fry spoke with Rolling Stone to talk about his missed viral moment, his hopes for a quick resolution, and the support needs of smaller and growing TikTok-based acts to break their songs.
I learned this from my team at Decca on Monday [“Things You Said”] was gaining traction. They said, “We think there's something going on here that's important. Let's get more information and meet on Tuesday.” So we met on Tuesday and they showed me some of the numbers. I'm not on Douyin, the Chinese TikTok, but it blew up. The song is Shazam's number one track in China right now.
There has been a rise in flows in the US as well, but nothing like what is happening in China. We met about it and everyone was excited. Everyone is full speed ahead. We'll deal with all of that, talk to the UMG China team, etc. We had that meeting around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and then that night, I was reading the news and saw UMG threatening to pull all of their Tik Tok music. Two sleepless nights later, here we are.
I didn't know what to feel because no one from UMG was giving me any information, I was just reading what I saw online from the news. It just makes a person feel very small. Maybe it's too vulnerable to say, but I just feel like I'm nothing, like I'm just at the mercy of the machinations of these multi-billion dollar corporations. In a way, I signed a deal. This is the kind of thing that can happen when you sign a major label deal.
I would fully support what UMG is doing — I think TikTok should pay more. TikTok has its promotional value, but there are also elements of TikTok and the way they use music that are a bit exploitative. They have to negotiate and find a balance there. The unfortunate thing is that it looks like UMG and TikTok will get along. Meanwhile, the real artists on the ground are the ones who are going to take the hits for it.
There is no way to really know what was going to happen [with “Things You Said”]. The song more than doubled in creations daily. The streams were bursting and we were on the upward curve. When it happens, you don't really know how high it will go. You can't know until he plays himself. But I won't get a chance to see this trend unfold. It could be life changing, it could be nothing, I don't know. I think it would definitely have helped me in China. And in some ways it already has. It's just terrifying that the marketing plans we've been planning to help and grow it even more have come to nothing.
For me in particular, it's just bad luck. I joked with a friend that I don't know if there is anyone in the entire Universal Music Group who has more potential damages than I do. Of course there are artists who have songs that crush it and go viral, but to be on the rise and then get my feet kicked out from under me, it's bad that I don't know how to quantify it.
I think it's admirable that UMG would take a stand. I also think the way this was handled was pretty harsh. To not let the artists on your roster get in your head when we all know how important TikTok is to the music industry as a whole. The reason I am undersigned it's because of my success on TikTok. So to find out one night on the news that this is happening is very difficult. I love my team. They do a great job. It appears that these decisions were made at the highest possible level. I don't think anyone was hiding anything from me. I think things broke down and that's how it goes sometimes.
The pipeline from TikTok to streaming is pretty strong. I have always considered TikTok as a promotional tool rather than a monetization platform. As Universal themselves said, TikTok already pays so little, even a percentage increase to 10%, 20%, I don't know what the negotiations will end up with, but I would be skeptical that it makes a real difference in terms of the final payments to some artists . I hope it does.
I support the spirit of what UMG is doing. My issue is more with the lack of communication. If I hadn't started this viral it would have been bad to have my listing removed. It would be very disappointing for my fans, which is sacred to me and every artist. My biggest hope is that they can quickly resolve this and figure it out in the next couple of days. I think UMG's concerns about AI are valid. I think UMG's concerns about harassment on the platform are valid, although they are on all other social media platforms as well. As for the mechanics of structuring deals, I'm not an expert on those deals.
I'm not that great of an artist. I'm doing great, don't get me wrong. I have a great life. I am very happy with my success. But I'm an ant in the picnic of all these other bigger entities, whether it's TikTok or UMG or bigger artists like Taylor Swift. I'm just a small gamer.
I wouldn't put myself in the anti-UMG or anti-TikTok camp. I'm all for the artist. And I think it's so sad that both of these companies say they're pro-artists and nobody's consulting the artists about what they want here.
I'm still digesting this. Apparently, we are only a few hours away from the actual removal. I have faith in my fans, faith in the internet. I'm sure people will still find a way to find the song. It blew up massively. I'm sure the internet will find a way to listen to the song if they want to. It just seems like a big own goal.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/cody-fry-universal-music-tiktok-fight-1234959520/