Agreement comes days after UMG pulled its music from rival app Triller
Sean Burch | February 8, 2021 @ 3:33 PM
Universal Music Group on Monday signed an expanded global licensing deal with TikTok a deal that comes, coincidentally or not, only days after UMG removed its catalog from Triller, a rival app to TikTok.
Under the new deal, “TikTok users will be more empowered than ever to express themselves through music, soundtrack their video creations with songs about which they are passionate and build communities around artists and music-centered culture,” according to a UMG press release.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but UMG said it will deliver “equitable compensation to our recording artists and songwriters,” a phrase that stands out after UMG ripped Triller, saying the app had “shamefully” withheld payment to musicians. Triller, in response, said its deal with UMG recently expired and that its been negotiating to reach a new agreement. (Triller CEO Mike L
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Universal Music Group removes music from streaming app Triller over pay dispute
Triller CEO Mike Lu sits for a portrait at Triller’s office in Century City.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Feb. 5, 2021 Updated 1:10 PM PT
Universal Music Group said it has pulled its music from Triller after no agreement had been reached with the L.A. music video app.
“We will not work with platforms that do not value artists,” UMG said in a statement Friday. “Triller has shamefully withheld payments owed to our artists and refuses to negotiate a license going forward.”
Universal Music Group represents hip-hop artists including Drake, the late Pop Smoke and Eminem. Yanking their music from the platform would hurt Triller as its users make videos that include parts of songs; losing access to work from major artists could send them to other platforms like viral video app TikTok, Triller’s biggest competitor, which has a licenses with UMG.
Triller, Universal Music Group Trade Shade as Licensing Battle Escalates Publicly
Todd Spangler, provided by
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The war of words between Ryan Kavanaugh’s Triller and Universal Music Group escalated Friday, after UMG pulled its catalog from the video-sharing app citing Triller’s failure to pay licensing fees for songs used on its service.
Early Friday, Universal Music said it was removing its music from Triller which positions itself as a rival to popular social-video app TikTok because, “Triller has shamefully withheld payments owed to our artists and refuses to negotiate a license going forward.”
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“We will not work with platforms that do not value artists,” the music giant said.