Amidst a dispute over licensing, one of the biggest record labels in the world has pulled all of its artists’ music from TikTok, an app that not only relies heavily on music, but one that artists themselves have come to rely upon in recent years, often at the urging of, you guessed it, their record labels!

Universal Music Group announced that it was “calling time out on TikTok” in an open letter in which it explained that the company was failing to work with Universal on three key issues that came up during contract negotiations: “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of A.I., and online safety for TikTok’s users.” In its own statement, TikTok condemned Universal’s actions as “self-serving” and mentioned that the company has been able to reach “artist-first” agreements with every other label, clearly suggesting UMG is the problem, not TikTok.

@lexithehart

GUUURLLL TURN THIS ISHH UPP!!!

♬ Thong Song - Glee Cast

Since negotiations broke down and the previous contract expired on January 31st, UMG removed all songs in their catalog from the app, including music by major artists like Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Drake. Fans who regularly use music in their TikToks, whether it’s for dances, fan edits or just background music, are at a loss for what to do: Should they use cover versions, particularly Glee covers? Should they look for ways around the issue, like uploading slightly sped-up or slowed-down versions of songs? Or maybe they should support independent artists instead?

@thetawavess I KNOW ITS BECAUSE OF UMG!!! I AM AWARE!!! PLEASE GOD I KNOW!!!!!!!! #loveyouso ♬ Love You So - The King Khan & BBQ Show

Meanwhile, others have discovered that some of the worst songs on the platform survived the purge. Examples include “Love You So” by The King Khan & BBQ Show, which was released in 2004 and has been used in more than 32 million TikTok videos, quickly becoming the bane of many users’ existence as a result of its oversaturation and the fact that it’s not very good.

@jessistotallycool if the song doesnt fit the video on most of my past videos, blame tiktok. #fyp #2024 #xyzbca ♬ Little Life - Cordelia

@alluringskull

Cbat feels like a life time ago

♬ Cbat - Hudson Mohawke

Other songs that survived include “Little Life” by Cordelia — you’ve undoubtedly seen at least a dozen videos that start with, “I think I like this little life” — and “Cbat” by Hudson Mohawke, best known as the perfect song to bone to.

@smurfette_lowkeykinda #foryoupage ♬ Fluffing a Duck - Kevin MacLeod

@havenlough

These are all of the artists they took down: Kanye West, Drake, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Playboi Carti, Yeat, Nicki Minaj, SZA, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, BTS, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber

♬ Fluffing a Duck - Kevin MacLeod

At least one song has gone semi-viral because it’s still available on the platform: “Fluffing a Duck” by Kevin MacLeod, with several videos uploaded since the purge using the song garnering over a million likes each. Hang on a minute… What if this entire drama is an elaborate marketing scheme orchestrated by MacLeod, a man who has composed over 2,000 pieces of royalty-free music? Who else could stand to gain so much during a royalty dispute? Not to smear Mr. MacLeod’s good name, but it’s awfully convenient, isn’t it?

Either way, I don’t like the sound of it.