Since the dispute between TikTok and Universal Music Group (EURONEXT:UMG) last week, many of the most popular songs on the social media platform have been removed.
These include songs from Taylor Swift and more than a third of the top 50 most popular songs, per the Billboard TikTok Top 50 chart.
UMG said TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, said it was pulling the songs of all of its artists off the platform at the end of January after it failed to agree on fees and how musicians can be protected from the “harmful effects of AI".
Its license agreement with TikTok expired on 31 January.
TikTok accused what is the world's largest record company of promoting a “false narrative” and said it was “sad and disappointing” that UMG “put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”
Billboard said at least 17 tracks out of the top 50 are no longer available for use on the app after said TikTok had refused to pay “fair value for the music”.
Top songs removed include those from a resurgent Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Muni Long, Drake (pictured above), Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.
Following the move by UMG, vocal support has been offered by the National Music Publishers Association, and music publishers and rights holders Primary Wave and Downtown Music, which both applauded the stand against TikTok and the call for fair compensation.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited (LSE:SONG) founder Merck Mercuriadis said although TikTok was a powerful force in the music industry now, including sparking a resurgence for the fund's Fleetwood Mac rights, UMG has "done the right thing here, from the perspective of making sure that the ‘900 pound gorilla’ of our business is setting a tone that is not only in the best interest of music rights-owners, but songwriters specifically".
The removal of many of TikTok users' favourite tracks to play in the background of their posts, such as Shaggy’s “Hey Sexy Lady” for fans of Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal, is "ruining viral trends", according to one tongue-in-cheek report this week, though Swifties have been coping by finding work-around solutions.
Could a backlash force the Chinese company to back down and pay improved terms, or will anxious musicians force UMG boss Sir Lucian Grainge back to the negotiating table?