TikTok Music to close down after clash with world's top record label

By Louis Goss

TikTok Music said it will be shutting down this November, just months after the streaming service was forced to pull songs by artists including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Rihanna following a dispute with record label Universal Music Group.

"We are sorry to inform you that TikTok Music will be closing on 28 November 2024," TikTok Music said in a statement on its website. "After this date, access to TikTok Music, including login, subscriptions, and all other functionalities, will no longer be available."

Owner ByteDance first launched its TikTok Music subscription streaming service in July 2023 with a view to challenging the likes of Spotify Technology (SPOT) and Apple (AAPL). TikTok Music initially launched in Brazil and Indonesia before entering markets including Australia, Mexico, and Singapore.

The subscription streaming service initially signed licensing deals with all of the 'Big Three' record labels, including Sony Music Entertainment (SONY), Warner Music Group (WMG), and the world's largest music producer Universal Music Group (NL:UMG).

But TikTok later clashed with Universal Music Group over various issues including royalties paid to artists and concerns the social media giant was letting its platforms be flooded with recordings generated by artificial intelligence that infringe on musicians intellectual property rights.

In an open letter in January, Universal Music Group accused TikTok of attempting to "bully" it into accepting an unfavorable deal by "selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars."

The clash subsequently saw TikTok Music forced to remove Universal Music Group's songs from its platforms after the two companies reached a stalemate that left them unable to renegotiate their initial contract that expired in January 2024.

This saw TikTok forced to remove Universal Music Group's music from its platform, which TikTok said accounted for around 30% of its "popular songs." Universal Music Group's open letter said TikTok accounted for just 1% of its overall $110 million revenue in 2023.

TikTok Music said it will now delete all user data as it called on customers to transfer any playlists by Oct. 28 and request refunds by Nov. 28. "TikTok Music account information and personal data will be automatically deleted following the closure of TikTok Music."

TikTok's parent company ByteDance was approached by MarketWatch for comment.

-Louis Goss

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09-24-24 0846ET

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