Yesterday (February 1), Universal Music Group followed through with their plan to remove all of the music from their catalogue after a dispute with TikTok over its licensing agreement.
Go to any artist page on the social platform and you will find a notice reading "This sound isn't available" on any post that originally featured music.
Of course, this isn't just about two major corporations playing chicken, hundreds of artists across the world that are signed to UMG are affected by this block, including many with millions of followers. Some of them have begun to express their frustration, question how it will affect their audience, and even use it as an attempt to get creative.
Arkells are looking to make the best out of a crappy situation. Frontman Max Kerman has been giving fans the music they need by posting short clips of himself singing the hits of his fellow labelmates, such as Taylor Swift, the Killers, Harry Styles, and Queen... though he's not the greatest at it. :)
Noah Kahan, on the other hand, is using the opportunity to question both his validity as an artist and if he will survive this whole ordeal. "I won’t be able to promote my music on TikTok anymore," he said in his video. "But luckily, I’m not a TikTok artist, right?”
“You’re gonna have to pre-save forever now, if you wanna listen to it, ’cause I can’t stick it down your throats anymore on this app," he added. "I’m still releasing it, it’s still coming out, and I’ll probably be okay, right? I’ll land on my feet, right? Right?”
FLETCHER chose to put herself in the same shoes as Meghan Markle, sample a clip from her scandalous interview with Oprah Winfrey's interview in which she was asked, "Were you silent? Or were you silenced?"
Conan Gray posted a clip of himself being interviewed on the red carpet by Rolling Stone, who asked what he plans to do moving forward.
“My career is over, for sure. I’m never gonna have a hit song again at this rate,” he said with a laugh. “No, no, it’s fine. TikTok has its ups and downs, and I guess we’ll see what happens. I guess we’ll be creative. There’s gonna be a lot of interesting a cappella covers happening from UMG artists until this is settled.”
And then there's YUNGBLUD who just opted for the unflitered, airing of grievances approach in his video.
“I’m a bit mind-blown to be honest. Am I relieved? Same bulls**t, though, isn’t it?" he said to the camera. "Two massive companies deciding what goes on with people’s art. It’s a bit f**king daft, isn’t it? Have a beautiful f**king day kisses.”
See all of the posts below.
@arkellsmusic Replying to @Caleb Smolenaars freddie mercury rip #tiktok #umg #musicbusiness #artist ♬ original sound - Arkells
@noahkahanmusic thanks love you guys #newmusic #stickseason #noahkahan #noahkahanmusic #forever ♬ Angel - Sarah McLachlan
@fletcher♬ Were you silent _ Oprah interviews Meghan Markle - keyrenity
@conangrayaufanclub @conangray IM SOO SORRY FOR U . #ahhh #iloveconangray #conangray #conanite #conangrayfanpage #fyp #umg #universemessage #conangrayvids #interview #fypppppppppppppp #floping #flop ♬ original sound - Conan’s Australian fan club
@yungbludthoughts?
♬ original sound - yungblud