Major Labels Want Millions, But TikTok Says No

The three major label want millions in payments for the use of music on two hugely popular short music video apps, TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin.

Deals between UMG, Sony, WMG and the Chinese owner of the apps, ByteDance, expire this spring, But after months of talks, the two sides are reportedly still far apart.

“TikTok is for short video creation and viewing, and is simply not a product for pure music consumption that requires a label’s entire collection,” said Todd Schefflin, who oversees global music business development at ByteDance told Bloomberg. “The platform provides an exciting way for content to trend and break through to wider audiences.”

"Old Town Road,” a fairly obscure mashup of country and hip-hop from Lil Nas X, reached the Billboard charts after going viral on TikTok.

“A short video on TikTok can become a valuable promotional tool for artists to grow their fan bases and build awareness for new work,” said Schefflin.

That is precisely why they are due millions, argue the labels, who are reportedly prepared to pull their music off the platform if talks fail.