Universal Music Group announce 'expanded global alliance' with TikTok

One of the world's largest labels, Universal Music Group (UMG), have announced an "expanded global alliance" with TikTok, the short-form video app.

The two platforms announced this agreement alongside a statement that promises the partnership will "deliver 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."

The agreement covers recorded music from artists at UMG’s labels and songwriters with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), and will work to 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.

"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," said Ole Obermann, Global Head of Music for TikTok, in a press release.

“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," added Michael Nash, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy at Universal. "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.”

Mark Cimino sai, “this alliance sets an industrywide example of social media companies acknowledging, respecting and compensating the music creators whose songs are instrumental to their platforms."

In recent months, TikTok has helped propel a number of songs to viral success, including Olivia Rodrigo's 'Driver's License', and a chart resurgence for Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams'.