Why songs from Taylor Swift, Drake are no longer on TikTok

Are you no longer hearing popular hits from your favorite artists on TikTok? You're not alone.

Universal Music Group is no longer licensing music on TikTok, a move that resulted in songs by major artists, such as Taylor Swift and Drake, to be removed from the platform Wednesday night. All videos containing music from the label's artists are now muted with a message noting the sound was removed due to copyright restrictions.

But why did Universal Music Group remove its artists' music from TikTok? Which artists have been affected? Here's what we know.

Why is Universal Music Group removing music from TikTok?

In an open letter posted to the Universal Music Group website, the record label stated that a music licensing agreement between UMG and TikTok would expire on Wednesday. The two entities did not come to an agreement by this deadline.

The label noted various issues standing in the way of a licensing agreement, including artist and songwriter pay, protecting artists from the effects of artificial intelligence, and TikTok user safety, recalling Hollywood strike concerns brought forth last summer.

The label accused the social media platform of attempting to "bully" them into accepting a deal. The music label also claims TikTok offered to pay its artists and songwriters "at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay."

TikTok responded to the open letter in a statement to USA TODAY, calling UMG's claims a "false narrative" created out of "greed."

"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," the statement reads. "Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent."

The platform continued: "TikTok has been able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans."

What artists are under Universal Music Group and no longer on TikTok?

Here's a list of artists whose songs have been removed from TikTok:

• Taylor Swift.

• Olivia Rodrigo.

• Drake.

• Bad Bunny.

• SZA.

• Rihanna.

• Adele.

• Billie Eilish.

• Ariana Grande.

• Harry Styles.

• BTS.

• Blackpink.

• J. Cole.

• Demi Lovato.

• Kendrick Lamar.

UMG also encompasses Capitol Records, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Def Jam Recordings, Abbey Road Studios, Virgin Music Group, Motown, Dreamville and more labels.

Who owns Universal Music Group?

Universal Music Group, which is led by Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, is the world’s biggest music rights company, per Music Business Worldwide. UMG was majority-owned by Paris-based media company Vivendi until September 2021 when the company was put on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange.

Now UMG is owned by Vivendi (10%), Pershing Square Holdings, a long-term investment company (10%) and other shareholders of its stock (60%). Tencent-led consortium, a business association led by a Chinese-owned technology conglomerate and holding company, also owns 20% of UMG.

What is UMG saying about TikTok?

UMG said 1% of its total revenue comes from TikTok despite the social media platform's "massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content."

UMG also alleges that as "negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth."

The AI and pay issues brought forth by UMG on behalf of artists are reminiscent of concerns vocalized by the film and television industry to Hollywood studios during dual SAG-AFTRA and the writers' strikes last summer.

The label also alleges the social media platform, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is allowing a flood of AI-generated music and developing tools to "enable, promote and encourage AI music creation."

TikTok, UMG claims, is "demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI."

In addition to bullying, the label accused the platform of "intimidation."

"When we proposed that TikTok takes similar steps as our other platform partners to try to address these issues, it responded first with indifference, and then with intimidation," the label wrote.

In response to the claims, TikTok wrote the following statement to USA TODAY.

"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," the statement reads. "Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent."

"TikTok has been able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why is music being removed from TikTok? Everything to know