However, UMG's accusations are seen as hypocritical given the record industry's notorious reputation for exploiting artists. UMG itself has been criticized for offering low-paying, exploitative deals to young artists. The label is also accused of licensing out the voices of its artists to AI, a practice it criticizes TikTok for. The decision to remove UMG's music from TikTok is seen less as a defense of artists and more as a move to ensure UMG gets paid.
Key takeaways:
- Universal Music Group (UMG) is expected to remove its entire library of songs from TikTok due to a failure to renew its contract with the social media platform.
- UMG accuses TikTok of unfairly paying artists and not protecting them from AI, despite the music industry's own history of exploiting artists.
- UMG is threatening to pull the music catalogs of artists such as Bad Bunny and Ariana Grande off TikTok, claiming it is in the best interest of its artists.
- UMG's decision to pull its music from TikTok may not be a morally righteous stance in defense of artists, but rather a move to ensure they get paid.