Universal Music and TikTok Ink New Multi-Year Licensing Deal

Photo Credit: Jonathan Kemper

Universal Music Group’s inked a fresh multi-year licensing deal with TikTok, which is teeing up expanded marketing campaigns and doubling down on efforts to decommission AI deepfakes.

UMG and the self-described “best platform for music discovery and promotion” unveiled their latest partnership agreement today. As usual, the companies opted against shedding light on the payout particulars and other hard numbers at hand.

But to put it one way, many are aware that the video-sharing app’s promo capabilities are more valuable than its straight licensing payments.

Upon disclosing that his own business had reupped with TikTok, Warner Music head Robert Kyncl in February touted the pact’s inclusion of “structural changes that better reflect the value of music” – albeit while acknowledging TikTok revenue’s being “in the lower single digits for the company.”

Bearing as much in mind, Universal Music and TikTok touched on plans to spearhead bolstered “creative and commercial opportunities for UMG’s” roster, besides expanding the aforementioned marketing campaigns and access to ecommerce tools.

Of course, we aren’t without indications of what the campaigns might look like in practice; Olivia Rodrigo’s “drop dead” last month benefited from “a global karaoke experience” push on TikTok, where Paul McCartney is set to promote his forthcoming The Boys of Dungeon Lane album with a May 27th TikTok Live premiere event.

The remainder of the UMG-TikTok release is similarly light on concrete details; the entities noted their plans to “unlock new opportunities across discovery, fandom and digital experiences” under the tie-up, for instance.

Back to the artificial intelligence side, the companies intend to “work together to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, while further improving artist and songwriter attribution.”

Time will tell what this entails, though more of the same – identifying and then axing a quick-growing number of deepfake uploads – seems like a distinct possibility. To be sure, the above AI quote is nearly identical to that which appeared in the release announcing the 2024 UMG-TikTok reconciliation on the heels of a licensing showdown.

That said, the 2024 deal’s announcement made no mention of “artist development initiatives.” Now, however, the app and the major are poised to plug “emerging artists from all over the world.”

In a statement, UMG EVP and chief digital officer Michael Nash highlighted plans to drive “innovative new fan experiences, while further improving social media monetization, and protecting and amplifying human artistry.”

And in remarks of her own, TikTok global head of music business development Tracy Gardner indicated that “this agreement will help create even more opportunities for artists and songwriters to engage audiences, grow their communities and achieve career success on a global scale.”