Taylor Swift’s music has begun to reappear on TikTok, even though there has been no movement in the ongoing licensing dispute between the social media platform and Universal Music Group, with whom Swift has recording and publishing deals.
Music by other UMG artists, such as Drake, Ariana Grande, and Camila Cabello, remains absent (at least officially and at least in their original forms) from TikTok.
It’s probably no coincidence that Taylor Swift’s music has reappeared on TikTok. Next week, on April 19, her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, will be released.
Let’s remember that Taylor Swift currently stands out in the industry for the unusual amount of control she has over her own music. She has owned the publishing rights to her songs since 2019; Meanwhile, there is speculation that TikTok likely “reached a separate deal with Taylor Swift,” since she owns many of her own master recordings.
The recorded music catalog (around 3 million songs) disappeared from TikTok at the end of January, after it became publicly known that the two companies were unable to reach a licensing agreement.
