Beyoncé’s song “Cuff It” disappeared from TikTok yesterday Tuesday (February 27). She is the latest victim of the platform’s confrontation with Universal Music Group.
“Cuff It” is not the only one. Recordings by Harry Styles are no longer available, others by SZA are missing, and most of Bad Bunny and Rosalia’s music is also missing, although neither of these artists are signed to Universal.
When negotiations between Universal and TikTok collapsed in late January, official recordings made by the label’s artists such as Taylor Swift and Drake quickly left the platform.
What happens then with the disappearance of these songs by artists who are not Universal Music?
After a grace period, songs that were written by Universal songwriters are suffering the same fate.
Many executives believe that Tik Tok is the most effective platform for marketing music.
At the same time, others in the industry argue that TikTok doesn’t pay enough to use the music that helped it become such a popular app. (Music technology company Pex found that 85% of TikTok videos incorporate music.)
