UMG claimed that as they attempted to negotiate a new contract with TikTok, the app “attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, for far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.”
In their letter, UMG said that TikTok tried to “intimidate” them by removing music from UMG’s lesser known artists, while keeping music by their global stars on the platform.
“We will always fight for our artists and songwriters and stand up for the creative and commercial value of music,” UMG concluded, adding that while they are disappointed for their musicians and their fans, they have an “overriding responsibility” to “fight for a new agreement” that sees their artists “appropriately compensated for their work.”