Universal Music announces plans to remove its songs from the popular social media platform, TikTok.

Universal Music is planning to remove its extensive music catalogue from TikTok due to a breakdown in payment negotiations. This decision means that popular artists like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and Drake will no longer have their songs available on the social media platform. Universal accused TikTok of bullying and claimed that it wanted to pay significantly less than what other social media sites pay for access to their music. TikTok responded by dismissing Universal's claims as false and argued that the company was prioritizing its own interests over those of its artists and songwriters. While TikTok has over a billion users, it only contributes 1% to Universal's total revenue. Universal, a major player in the music industry, expressed concerns about fair compensation for its artists and songwriters, as well as the safety of TikTok's users. The music label announced that it would cease licensing its content to TikTok when their current contract expires at the end of January. This marks the first time that Universal has removed its songs from a tech platform. In contrast, in July of last year, Warner Music, the world's third-largest recorded music company, struck a new licensing deal with TikTok.