TikTok and Universal Music Group Announce Global Licensing Deal

Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok have announced a global agreement that delivers equitable compensation for recording artists and songwriters and significantly expands and enhances the companies’ existing relationship, promoting the development of new innovative experiences and the ability to forge deeper bonds between fans and the artists and music they love.

With this agreement, which covers recorded music from artists at UMG’s labels and songwriters with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), TikTok users will be more empowered than ever to express themselves through music, soundtrack their video creations with songs about which they are passionate and build communities around artists and music-centered culture. The companies have additionally pledged to experiment with exciting new features. TikTok users will now be able to incorporate clips from UMG’s full catalog of music, spanning the company’s iconic labels, songwriters and global territories.

Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music for TikTok said, “We are excited to enter this new era with UMG and UMPG to continue supporting artists and songwriters, by working together to help reach music fans on TikTok. Our platform has been a driver in creating chart hits and licensing the world’s biggest catalog of tracks will continue to inspire our community. In turn, we are proud to partner with UMG and UMPG to be a source to help new talent emerge and to re-introduce legacy acts to a new audience.”

Michael Nash, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy at UMG said, “UMG and TikTok will now work more closely than ever to promote ambitious experimentation, innovation and collaboration — with the shared objective of developing new music experiences and features. Driving new and deeper connections with fans, this agreement delivers equitable compensation to our recording artists and songwriters, as well as a commitment to develop industry-leading tools, A&R insights and models necessary to advance their careers.” –

Marc Cimino, Chief Operating Officer of UMPG said, “This alliance sets an industry-wide example of social media companies acknowledging, respecting and compensating the music creators whose songs are instrumental to their platforms. We appreciate Tik Tok’s partnership and look forward to working together to provide support and opportunities to our songwriters.”