TikTok, the popular social media platform, removed all Universal Music Group (UMG) sounds due to the expiration of their content release license without renewal agreements and failure to negotiate a new licensing agreement on Jan 31.
The failure to renew the license between TikTok and UMG is a threat for artists gaining attention through TikTok.
Just two days before the contract expiration date, UMG released a statement stating renewal negotiations fell apart due to disagreements over artists compensation.
The removal of these sounds on TikTok where some of the most popular and viral trends consist of dancing to music, lip syncing and creating a trend with the music in the background, has affected creators who constantly post and use their platforms as income.
“Majority of my TikTok videos have either gotten taken down or the sound has gone away,” Brooke Forgony, sophomore, said.
As of now, users have been finding somewhat comical ways of ‘recreating’ these sounds using their instruments and vocals, which have recently been blowing up with followers, likes and reposts. These recreations don’t sync up with lip syncing videos, or the beat doesn’t match up to the dance creators posted.
Since the removal of sounds, videos including any part from said sound, even if it’s just in a certain part of a video or just in the background all of these videos have been marked for copyright issues and the sound has been muted.
“[Tik Tok] videos that are older have all of their sounds taken away. It just kind of bleeds memories,” Sarah Brodner, senior, said.
A further issue users have been experiencing is the process of having to remove posts they’ve made with sounds from these artists. Users have even reported receiving a copyright claim on their videos, which has led to their accounts being taken down.
“If my video gets taken down, my whole account can get taken down as well,” Forgony said.
