TikTok and Universal Music Group Announce Global Licensing Deal
Categoria: Musica
The latest deal is relatively straightforward compared to TikTok and UMG's last agreement, which was struck in 2024 following a three-month standoff.
Por Billboard | 22/05/2026
Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok have announced a new multi-year licensing deal. News of the agreement comes two years after UMG and TikTok resolved their infamous licensing standoff , which led UMG to pull its entire catalog of master recordings and compositions from the service for the first three months of 2024. TikTok notes in a press release that the new deal will provide UMG artists with “expanded marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as access to ecommerce and other artist-centric tools.” Related UMG’s Chief Digital Officer Talks Udio Deal, Suno Lawsuit — And What Really Happened With TikTok in 2024 'The Breakfast Club' to Stream Live Daily, Commercial-Free on Netflix: 'The Future Belongs to Those Who Can See What's Possible' Woman Accused of Attempting to Murder Rihanna to Face Mental Health Competency Test The release also notes that the new agreement “build[s] on the success of the multi-dimensional partnership announced in 2024” and extends TikTok and UMG’s “groundbreaking commitment to AI protections that promote human artistry.” It adds that “TikTok and UMG will work together to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, while further improving artist and songwriter attribution.” In January, UMG chief digital officer and executive vp Michael Nash was a guest on Billboard’s On the Record podcast, when he revealed new details about what happened between UMG and TikTok in 2024 that led the music company to pull its catalog from the social media service in retaliation. “There was a proposal [from TikTok] that the service would use AI music in a way that went far outside of what we thought really made sense for us to support in the interest of our artists,” Nash said at the time. “And specifically, what they were proposing is that creators would be able to generate AI content, and that AI content on the TikTok platform would get paid on the same basis as artists’ [music]. It would dilute the artists’ royalty pool.” When the two companies finally resolved their dispute, Nash explained that, ultimately, “we got the best protections that we had been able to obtain to that point, and they remain some of the best protections that we have in any agreement with the music service, in terms of AI protection and what we call ‘anti-dilution,’ meaning our royalties won’t be diluted by pure AI content.” Related Inside TikTok’s Music Strategy: Tracy Gardner Talks AI Songs, Fan Events and How to Go Viral Typically, licensing agreements between music companies and tech platforms last for about two to three years, so license renewals between TikTok and other music companies are expected in the near future. In a statement about the new deal, Nash said: “We’re proud of the pioneering work we’ve done with TikTok to create wide-ranging benefits for our artists and songwrite