By Michelle Chapman
Artists from Universal Music Group, which include Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, will be returning to TikTok as the two parties have struck a new licensing agreement following an approximately three-month long dispute.
The two sides said Thursday that they are "now working expeditiously to return music by artists represented by Universal Music Group and songwriters represented by Universal Music Publishing Group to TikTok in due course."
Taylor Swift, whose recently released album, "The Tortured Poets Department," has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, had some of her songs make a return to TikTok last month, but the details of how that exactly happened are unclear, according to Variety.
UMG said in January that it had not agreed to terms of a new deal with TikTok, and planned to stop licensing content from the artists it represents on the social media platform that is owned by ByteDance, as well as TikTok Music services.
At the time, UMG had been pressing TikTok on three issues: "appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok's users."
TikTok pushed back against the claims by UMG, saying that it had reached 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher.
On Thursday the two sides announced that their new agreement would give significant benefits to UMG's global stable of artists, songwriters and labels and would return their music to TikTok.
"Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group," TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a statement. "We are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG's amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community."
Part of the new deal includes UMG and TikTok working together to find new monetization opportunities. They will also will work together on campaigns supporting UMG's artists across genres and territories globally.
In addition, the companies will put their combined efforts toward ensuring that AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and payments for artists and songwriters. TikTok will also work with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as on tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution.
TikTok plans to continue investing in building artist-centric tools that will help UMG artists realize their potential on the platform. Some tools include "Add to Music App", enhanced data and analytics, and integrated ticketing capabilities.
"We're gratified to renew our relationship with TikTok predicated on significant advancements in commercial and marketing opportunities as well as protections provided to our industry-leading roster on their platform," Michael Nash, chief digital officer and executive vice president, Universal Music Group, said in a statement.
While TikTok has settled its dispute with UMG, the future of the platform remains uncertain. Last month President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring TikTok parent ByteDance to sell to an approved buyer within a year or to shut down. It's not clear whether that law will survive an expected legal challenge or that ByteDance would agree to sell.
Michelle Chapman is an AP business writer
Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons On The Return Of “Whiplash” To Theaters After 10 Years
Ten years after " Whiplash " took the film world by storm, Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature is returning to theaters nationwide Friday.
In 2014, "Whiplash" was the ultimate indie movie Cinderella story — a Sundance discovery made by a 20-something that that would go on to become both a box office hit and an awards darling: It won three Oscars, including for J.K. Simmons ' portrayal of a semi-sadistic and ever quotable jazz ensemble instructor; launched Chazelle's directing career into the A-list stratosphere; and established Miles Teller as a next generation movie star. Now, audiences will get another chance to experience it on the big screen.
Chazelle, Teller and Simmons spoke recently about the re-release, their memories of the 20-day shoot (including when Teller accidentally broke his co-star's rib) and making something with staying power. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What has it been like watching "Whiplash" settle into the culture in the past decade?
CHAZELLE: It's very cool, a little surreal. It doesn't feel like 10 years. It's fun to have a moment like this to relive it a little bit.
SIMMONS: It's sobering to know that I'm 10 years older. It's kind of shocking and kind of awesome that the movie actually holds up. I just saw it a few days ago in Toronto: That's a good piece of cinema.
TELLER: This is the first time I've ever had a movie re-released. I'm still fairly young into my career, but it's an incredible movie. The one thing that's frustrating for me is that people just yell out at me all the time, " not my tempo." So that's stuck around well.
SIMMONS: Maybe if you get the tempo... Read More