Written by Maddie Nerden

When you pair two of the most dynamic fields together, there’s bound to be monumental changes. In the end of January 2024, Universal Music Group (UMG) decided to discontinue their licensing agreement with the social media giant TikTok. This caused hundreds of artists’ music to be removed from TikTok and muted existing videos that used a sound from a UMG artist. To learn more about this issue, I interviewed Nina Webb, the former Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing for Atlantic Records. Webb is a seasoned veteran when it comes to music marketing and spent almost a decade with the label. 

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in the “TikTok Basket” 

The introduction of TikTok made it easy for anyone to go viral. This made TikTok attractive for record labels because it was the only marketing tactic that could produce results on its own. However, Webb noted that “… everybody got a little too comfortable with thinking they’re putting all their eggs in the TikTok basket. You have to make sure as an artist and as a marketer you are finding some parity in other places, so you’re not counting on one place and one platform for all of your following.” She emphasizes that marketers cannot ignore other platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram, or even a website. 

When record labels focus most of their efforts on TikTok, it puts pressure on the artist. One reason is that the artist is left responsible for creating content since audiences would rather hear directly from the artist and not their label. This direct connection is what made TikTok appealing to record labels. Another reason is that the artist receives little to no support with content creation from their record label, meaning the artist must brainstorm ideas for content alone. Webb also points out that it is especially hard for female artists to create consistent content because they are uncomfortable filming without their hair and makeup done. To combat that, female artists typically designate days for photo and video shoots to stockpile content. 

Music Isn’t Just Art, it’s a Business 

When Webb started out in the music industry, artists “…just made a beautiful record, [and] put all their energy into that. [They] did the photoshoot, did a couple videos, did radio, touring, publicity, and they’re good! They’re done!” This is a stark contrast to nowadays, where being a talented singer is not enough to gain traction for an artist’s music. Artists now need to be their own salesperson and are responsible for creating and managing their own brand. Webb believes the scrappy artists are the ones who figure out that being in the music industry is more than just being a talented artist, it is about managing their brand and their business. An example of a scrappy artist is Connor Price, an independent rapper from Canada. Price has 5.6 million followers on TikTok and over 9 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He consistently posts creative skits and music video clips, which excite fans and amass thousands of likes and hundreds of thousands of views. Price knows his brand and frequently engages with his audience, which has led to his success on streaming and on tours. 

However, not all independent artists have seen the same success as Price. The conclusion of the UMG and TikTok licensing agreement hurt a lot of independent artists who collaborated with UMG signed artists. Even if the independent artists only worked on one song with the signed artist, they saw their entire discography disappear from TikTok. Webb says that “[the] only solution is if they’re able to rerecord [the song] without [the UMG signed] artist on it”. This way the master is solely owned by the independent artist. 

Sped-Up Swindle 

TikTok users creating their own sound by speeding up artists’ music is a common problem on TikTok and was a primary reason UMG discontinued the licensing agreement. This was a big issue for UMG because their artists’ accounts are not associated with the sped-up sound. This prevents artists from collecting revenue for additional streams of their music on TikTok. Webb presents a strong argument that these sounds should also be included in the ban. She argues that “[it’s] still [the artists’] work. It’s like when somebody remixes a song of yours that you shouldn’t get any royalty or credit, and that’s not true. It’s your song somebody just recreated it”. 

So, what’s the future of music marketing?

Record labels could resort to increasing usage of TikTok influencers, which Webb reports they have been trying to do over the last two years. However, Webb believes the question lies within the audience’s hands: Do we believe influencers anymore? Especially since audiences know how much influencers get paid for endorsements; Webb says “[influencers] would have to have [a lot of] trust with their fanbase for people to actually listen to them”. She also wonders if there will be a backlash against influencers from Generations Z and Alpha due to the oversaturation of influencer culture. Regardless of whether record labels decide to increase influencer usage, one takeaway of the end of the UMG licensing agreement is clear. Music marketers need to diversify their marketing tactics so they can own as much of their content as possible. 

Resources

The Universal Music-TikTok Battle Hurts Artists Most of All (variety.com) 

TikTok Music Ban: How Universal’s Fight Screws Indie Artists (vulture.com)