Why could Harry Styles and Taylor Swift songs be pulled from TikTok?

Millions of songs from the likes of Taylor Swift and Harry Styles could be removed from TikTok in the next 24 hours after a breakdown in negotiations between Universal Music Group and the social media platform.

Universal Music Group published an open letter titled "Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok," where the company notes the "three critical issues" they raised in contract renewal discussions as the current contract expires today (January 31).

These issues include "appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users".

After raising these concerns, Universal says TikTok responded "first with indifference, and then with intimidation".

"TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth," the statement read.

According to the music group, TikTok attempted to intimidate "by selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars".

It also accused TikTok of "allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recording" and says TikTok proposed paying artists and songwriters "a fraction" of the rate that other similar social media platforms pay.

TikTok has since responded and in turn, called Universal Music Group's narrative and rhetoric "false".

"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters, the statement read.

"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."

So which artists are affected by this dispute?

Universal Music Group is the biggest music label group in the world with artists such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Adele, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, The Beatles, The Weeknd, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Elton John and many more big names.

It also owns the rights to Sophie Ellis Bextor's hit Murder on the Dancefloorwhich has risen up the charts thanks to the track being used in the 2023 film Saltburn and being part of a viral TikTok trend.

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