Taylor Swift’s Music Returns to TikTok Amid Dispute and Ahead of New Album’s Release
Many of Taylor Swift’s tracks returned to TikTok on April 11 ahead of the release of the singer-songwriter’s upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department. The new compilation consists of 16 songs, two major collaborations, and exclusive bonus tracks.
This development comes about two months after Variety reported that Universal Music Group will be removing the “All Too Well” singer’s music catalog and that of other UMG-contracted artists and songwriters like Ariana Grande, BTS, and Rihanna from the platform. Based on information from the short-form video-hosting service, there have been issues with licensing, AI, and royalties which led to their removal.
“The companies have not agreed to terms for a new agreement and upon expiration of the current agreement, Universal Music Group, including Universal Publishing Group, will cease licensing content to TikTok and TikTok Music services.” the company said in a statement.
In a blistering open letter “to the artist and songwriter community” dated January 30, UMG explained why the two parties failed to negotiate a new deal.
“TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay,” it read.
“As an indication of how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue, and increasing reliance on music-based content, TikTok accounts for only about 1% of our total revenue.” It voiced concern over the app “allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings.”
TikTok responded to the allegations, saying, “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”
It added, “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”, it concluded.
But Swifties will now be able to groove to some of the superstar’s hit songs like “Cruel Summer,” “Cardigan,” “Lover,” as well as new recordings of old favorites like “Is It Over Now?,” “Style,” “Love Story,” and “Shake it Off’ (Taylor’s Version)” in their videos.
As for why that’s possible now, it could be because Swift owns the copyrights to her compositions under her new record deal with UMG. Unlike many artists, she enjoys greater control over her work.
Regardless of the reasons, her fan base is in for a treat.
They’ve unabashedly expressed their excitement on TikTok. One user, Jessica Golich, wrote, “OMG this made my whole year.”
Meanwhile, Divendra Rai captioned her lip-syncing video with, “Welcome back Taylor!!!”
However, it remains unclear whether they’ll be able to dance and sing to the pop icon’s 11th studio album as the issue between UMG and TikTok has yet to be resolved.
Swift first announced her new album onstage when she won the best pop vocal for her 2022 record Midnights at the 2024 Grammys. “This is my 13th Grammy–which is my lucky number, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” she teased the crowd. The singer later shared a sultry album cover on IG with the caption, “All’s fair in love and poetry…”
The Tortured Poets Department is scheduled for an April 19, 2024 release.
