Beyoncé's “Cuff It” disappeared from TikTok on Tuesday (February 27), the latest casualty of the platform's standoff with Universal Music Group (UMG).
“Cuff It” is not alone. Harry Styles' recordings are no longer available, SZA's recordings are gone except for her new single “Saturn,” and most of Bad Bunny's music is also missing — even though none of these artists are signed to the labels UMG.
When negotiations between UMG and TikTok collapsed in late January, official recordings made by UMG artists such as Taylor Swift and Drake quickly disappeared from the platform. After a grace period, songs partially written by UMPG songwriters now suffer the same fate.
“Cuff It” is one of the many Beyoncé songs featuring a contribution from a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group — in this case, Raphael Saadiq. UMPG's roster also includes artists Styles, Rosalía, SZA, Bad Bunny and Steve Lacy for their songs. In the US, UMPG reaches 20% to 30% of music on TikTok, according to a spokesperson for the platform. A spokesperson for TikTok declined to comment further.
UMPG declined to comment for this story. In a letter to songwriters earlier this month, the publisher said: “TikTok insists on paying our songwriters at a fraction of the rate paid by major social media platforms of a similar location – and without any significant increase from our previous agreement … This is unacceptable”.
Tension between the music industry and TikTok has been building for years. Many executives still believe that it is the most effective platform for music marketing, even if it is extremely difficult to influence.
At the same time, many around the music industry argue that TikTok doesn't pay enough to use the music that helped make it a wildly popular app. (The music-technology company Pex I found out that 85% of TikTok videos incorporate music.) In late 2022, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge noted that a value gap was “quickly forming in the new iterations of short-form video.”
In a statement to Advertising sign at the time, the global head of music TikTok All Oberman emphasized that the platform was not a music streaming service: “Our community comes to TikTok to watch videos, not to listen to full-length tracks.” He added, “We're proud of the partnerships we're building with industry and artists, and we're confident we're strengthening musical engagement. This translates directly into more financial and creative opportunities for music creators.”
The simmering tension boiled over in late January. In an open letter, UMG announced that its negotiations with TikTok had broken down. “TikTok has proposed that we pay our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of what large social media platforms of a similar location pay,” UMG wrote. The record label accused TikTok of trying to “intimidate us into accepting a bad deal that devalues music and degrades artists and songwriters and their fans.”
TikTok responded by saying UMG was promoting a “false narrative.” It's “sad and disappointing, that [UMG] have put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” TikTok continued.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/tech/tiktok-missing-beyonce-sza-harry-styles-songs-why-1235616545/
