Taylor Swift’s music is no longer a blank space on TikTok now that many of her songs appear to have returned to the platform. Swift was the biggest artist affected when Universal Music Group let its license to TikTok expire at the end of January amid stalled negotiations on payment, AI protections, and safety. Since 2019, she’s released music on Republic Records, one of UMG’s flagship pop labels. (Her earlier releases under Big Machine Records, including reputation and Taylor Swift, are still unavailable, since Big Machine is also distributed by UMG.) It’s unclear how Swift’s music made it back onto TikTok while other UMG artists like Ariana Grande and Bad Bunny are still off the app (though they’ve found loopholes too). A spokesperson for TikTok had no comment on Swift’s music’s returning.
Crucially, Swift owns the master rights to the Republic songs that returned to TikTok but not the Big Machine songs that are still off the app. (You know why.) In theory, then, she could have just negotiated a deal directly with TikTok, just like many independent musicians can and do. (And she does have experience negotiating with a major tech company.) If that is what happened, could it open the door for other UMG artists who own their music to return to the app?
We do know that this is happening just eight days before the release of Swift’s 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department. Guess she may not be stronger than a 2020s trend.