Barely two months after the TikTok Music Right episode with Universal Music Group, the National Music Publishers Association also plans to withdraw its licenses from the site.
Earlier this year, Universal Music Group, one of the largest music companies, had to remove its entire artists' playlist from TikTok.
This happened because they couldn't reach new contract terms with the company over AI and artist compensation issues.
It was revealed that TikTok tried to bully the group into signing a deal worth far less than the current market value and less than the previous term, with no potential for exponential growth.
Now, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) also plans to withdraw their license from the platform after its scheduled expiration date.
Tiktok's Music's rights deal with the NMPA is due to expire on the 30th of April, but the association has already made it known that there won't be any possibility of renewal of the contract after the contract with TikTok expires.
The TikTok UMG music deal was canceled because it was obvious that the platform was trying to use its power to hurt vulnerable artists and intimidate the group into signing deals that undervalued music.
Music from artists such as Drake, Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, Adele, Arianna, Olivia Rodrigo, and many others have also been removed from the TikTok sounds tab, and previous videos with the sounds are now muted.
UMG said in an open letter: "As we proceed with negotiation, TikTok tried to bully us into signing a deal that was less than the previous one, with far less market value and no possibility of their exponential growth."
UMG has officially started removing their artists’ catalogs from TikTok.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 1, 2024
Official songs are no longer appearing for UMG artists under the ‘sounds’ tab, with the exception of fan-made edits. pic.twitter.com/Aw8MRpPDe4
The group further revealed that TikTok tried to intimidate the group by taking out certain songs of developing artists but kept the songs from the global driving audience on the platform.
The National Music Publisher Association said in a letter to its members
"If you received this Member Alert letter, it means you are currently participating in a music license with TikTok through the 2022 NMPA's model opt-in.
NMPA is notifying all the participants that the two-year license is set to expire on the 30th of April, 2024. The press has recently highlighted growing concern about the TikTok license and NMPA has heard directly from many of its members. This time, we do not anticipate that there would be an option for renewal or extension of the current NMPA license with TikTok.
NMPA members should make it their business whether or not to directly negotiate a license with TikTok beyond the expiration on the 30th of April," the letter read.
Despite this development, members who still wish to pursue business with TikTok are allowed to proceed, but it is recommended that they exercise caution in their dealings with the platform.
As of now, there are no indications that the license withdrawal will have any immediate impact on the current contracts. However, members can rest assured that they will be notified of any changes that may occur before the expiration of their current contract.