Taylor Swift’s songs have returned to TikTok following a dispute that caused her label to stop licensing content for the app.
Her music will return on Thursday, ahead of the release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Many musicians have complained about TikTok’s poor royalties
Universal Music removed tracks by its artists in January, including Rihanna and Ariana Grande, alleging a licensing dispute. Many musicians have complained about TikTok’s poor royalties.
Many of her songs, like You Belong With Me and Cruel Summer, are now available for users to add to their videos, but music from Universal’s other artists has yet to be relisted. This could be because, unlike other artists, Swift owns the copyright to her music under the terms of a 2018 arrangement with Universal. Some reports said Swift had a separate agreement with TikTok.
“Swifties” – Taylor Swift admirers—went to the platform to express their joy at her music’s reappearance.
Universal alleged in an open letter released on January 30 that “ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
Universal also expressed worry about providing proper pay to artists for AI-generated songs that sound like the genuine thing, such as one produced to sound like Drake and The Weeknd that went viral.
Swift revealed her new album when accepting her 13th Grammy earlier this year.
The Tortured Poets Department, which will be released on April 19, is her eleventh album.