Taylor Swift’s music returns to TikTok, and fans are so excited! Universal Music Group, her label, had taken them down due to a royalties disagreement with TikTok.
But, you can now enjoy her songs once again. This comes just in time for Swift’s upcoming album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” set to drop on April 19th.
Songs from Taylor Swift’s albums “Lover,” “folklore,” “evermore,” and “Midnights,” as well as her re-recorded versions of “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” and “1989,” have been made available again for TikTok creators.
However, tracks from her debut album “Taylor Swift” and her sixth studio album “Reputation” have not returned to TikTok.
What led Taylor Swift’s Song to be Taken Down from TikTok?
In January, Universal Music Group removed songs by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, and Rihanna because their deal with TikTok was ending.
They explained this in a letter called “An open letter to the artist and songwriter community why we must call time out on TikTok.”
UMG stated: “In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues: appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.” However, since there was no agreement reached, they decided to remove the music.
“At the end of the day, TikTok is attempting to develop a music-focused business without fairly compensating for the music,” UMG explained.
The statement also highlighted that TikTok aims to establish a music-focused business without fairly compensating for the music. However, Universal pointed out that TikTok only makes up about 1% of their money.
Also, the company expressed concern about TikTok allowing AI-generated recordings on the platform. They criticized TikTok’s development of tools that promote and encourage this type of music creation, which could significantly reduce royalties for human artists.
Did TikTok Respond to This Accusation?
TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, dismissed UMG’s claims as “a false narrative.”
They mentioned that UMG decided to step away from a platform with over a billion users, which serves as a free promotional and discovery tool for their talent.
As a result, TikTok removed thousands of songs from its platform and muted videos featuring those songs written by songwriters under Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).
It’s not clear what agreements were reached for Taylor Swift’s music to return to TikTok. Music from other Universal artists still isn’t available on the platform.
Meanwhile, Swift revealed her latest album when she accepted her 13th Grammy award in February. Since then, she’s been hinting at album covers, song titles, and a countdown to its release on April 19th across social media.
