TikTok fans warned of major changes to the app due to a dispute with record label Taylor Swift

A SPAT between TikTok and Universal Music could result in millions of songs from the likes of Taylor Swift, Drake and Billie Eilish being removed from the app.

The music label is preparing to stop licensing its music to TikTok after the Chinese social media platform tried to get a cheaper rights deal.

TikTok has been accused of “bullying” the platform and “flooding” it with AI music to replace human artists and “massively diluting” the royalties they earn.

Royalty payments are what a music company and artist earn when their songs are played on streaming and social media platforms.

In a open letterUniversal Music claims that “TikTok tried to bully us into accepting a deal that was worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and does not reflect their exponential growth.”

The group added: “We respect our responsibilities with the utmost seriousness.

“Intimidation and threats will never cause us to avoid these responsibilities.”

The current licensing agreement with TikTok expires on January 31.

So it looks like all songs under the wings of Universal Music will be removed from the platform starting tomorrow.

In response, TikTok said: “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

“Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is that they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery tool for their talent.”

TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has become a launching pad for both emerging and A-list artists in making their songs viral.

ByteDance achieved revenue of $85.2 billion in 2022, almost 40 percent more than the previous year.

Meanwhile, Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, earned $11.2 billion during the same period.

It's the first time Universal Music has taken the big step of removing its songs from a tech company's platform.

In the letter, Universal Music says it is trying to combat the “harmful effects” of AI on its artists by securing a valuable licensing deal for them.

The label added that while TikTok has more than a billion users, it only accounts for one percent of its revenue.

“During our contract renewal discussions, we pressed them on three critical issues: adequate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok users,” the group wrote.

“As an indication of how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenues, and increasing reliance on music-based content, TikTok accounts for only about 1 percent of our total revenues.”

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