Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift‘s songs are back on TikTok after a more than two-month hiatus amid a licensing dispute between the app and Universal Music Group.
As of Thursday morning, multiple Swift songs — including “You Belong With Me,” “Lover,” “Cardigan,” “Mirrorball,” “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” “Cruel Summer,” “Cardigan,” “Style (Taylor’s Version),” “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version),” “The Man” and “ME!” — were available on the TikTok app for users to incorporate into their videos.
Swift’s catalog of music was among the tracks pulled from TikTok in February, afterthe app company and UMG failed to renew a licensing pact that expired Jan. 31. Universal Music accused TikTok of trying to“bully” the music company into a deal worth lessthan their previous agreement — and alleged TikTok was not willing to address AI and piracy concerns. TikTok countered that Universal was engaging in “false narrative and rhetoric.”
It’s unclear at the moment if Swift’s songs returning to TikTok are part of a larger resolution of the dispute between the ByteDance-owned app and UMG, or if it’s an exception. Swift owns the masters to her own song catalog and may have been able to cut a standalone deal with TikTok.
Asked for clarification about the reappearance of Swift’s songs on the app, a TikTok rep said “we don’t have anything to share on this.” PvNew has also reached out to Universal Music Group and Swift’s reps for comment.
In 2020, Swift signedan exclusive global publishing deal withUniversal Music Publishing Group, after being with Sony/ATV since she the beginning of her career. In late February, TikTok removed songs licensed from Universal Music Publishing, after the earlier removal of recordings owned or distributed by UMG.
