Universal artists to return to TikTok as dispute comes to an end
Universal Music and TikTok have ended a dispute over royalties after the label pulled millions of songs from the social media platform.
The new licensing agreement means songs by some of the biggest artists in the world, including Drake, Adele and Billie Eilish will return to the site for use within the next two weeks.
TikTok, a short video app, is a valuable marketing and promotional tool for music stars. But in January, Universal claimed it paid artists and songwriters “a fraction” of the rate offered by similar social media platforms, and announced it was pulling its catalogue.
Billie Eilish is also among Universal’s artists. Pic: Reuters
Universal is the biggest music label in the world and also looks after Taylor Swift – who allowed a selection of her songs to return to TikTok as she promoted her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April. Swift owns the copyrights to her recordings through her 2018 deal with Universal and can control where her songs are available, according to the Financial Times.
The companies now say they have come to “a new multi-dimensional” licensing agreement that will deliver “significant industry-leading benefits” for Universal’s artists and labels.
In a joint statement, TikTok said it would continue to invest resources into “building artist-centric tools” and work on strengthening online safety protections for artists and their fans.
The AI issue
Drake, another Universal artist, has previously had his voice cloned for AI tracks. Pic: AP
The agreement means all videos that had been muted will be unmuted. It comes just over three months since Universal posted an open letter criticising TikTok, calling for higher payments for artists and songwriters, protection from the “harmful effects” of AI, and online safety.
In their joint statement, the companies now say they will work together to ensure AI development across the industry “will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters”.
They will also work to remove unauthorised AI-generated music from the platform, as well as on tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution, the statement says.
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Universal chairman and chief executive Sir Lucian Grainge said the “new chapter” focuses “on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community”, while TikTok chief executive Shou Chew added: “Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem, and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group.”
Concerns about AI have grown in the creative community. In April last year, a song featuring the cloned voices of Drake and The Weeknd was removed from streaming sites after going viral.
On Tuesday, British singer-songwriter and producer FKA Twigs told a US Senate hearing how she had created her own digital clone – but condemned unauthorised use of her voice and image.
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On Wednesday, a poll by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music found that 83% of UK adults agree that a music artist’s creative “personality” should be protected in law against AI copies and 77% believe it amounts to theft when generated music fails to acknowledge the creator of the original.
In April, more than 200 artists signed an open letter objecting to the “predatory” use of AI to “steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses”.
Rebel Wilson has legally married fashion designer Ramona Agruma in her hometown of Sydney.
It’s the second wedding for the pair, who had a lavish ceremony on the Italian island of Sardinia in September.
The 44-year-old Australian actress announced her engagement to Agruma at Disneyland on Valentine’s Day last year.
Sharing a selection of photos taken in Sydney Harbour in front of Harbour Bridge, Wilson wrote: “My sister Liberty officiated our legal wedding in Sydney!
“It meant my 94-year-old grandmother Gar could come which was very special to us to have her included and just felt right to do it in my hometown at this glorious time of the year!”
Looking bright and breezy, Wilson wore a peach off the shoulder dress, while Aguma was in a floral scallop-edged gown.
It was in contrast to the matching white bridal dresses they wore in Sardinia for the first wedding, covered by fashion bible Vogue.
The post also featured pictures of the pair posing with comedian Wilson’s grandmother, Gar, and other loved ones.
Agruma shared similar posts on her Instagram page, writing: “Married officially in Australia to my Australian princess.”
Wilson revealed in June 2022 she was in a relationship with the Los Angeles-based fashion and jewellery designer, writing on Instagram: “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess.”
The couple – who met in late 2021 – received media attention after the Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald tried to out Wilson before she went public with the relationship.
Wilson became a mother for the first time in November 2022, via a surrogate. She announced the arrival of her daughter Royce Lillian on social media, calling her “a beautiful miracle”.
Wilson shot to fame as the character Brynn in the hit 2011 comedy film Bridesmaids, before gaining critical acclaim as Fat Amy in the musical comedy film, Pitch Perfect.
Her memoir, Rebel Rising, was published in May, causing controversy after she wrote about “a massive a**hole” she had worked with in Hollywood.
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She later revealed on social media the person she was referring to was Sasha Baron Cohen, who she worked with on his 2016 spy action-comedy Grimsby.
The Ali G and Borat star described her claims against him as “demonstrably false“.
The past 12 months have been the gift that’s kept on giving when it comes to newly-coined words and phrases entering our lexicon.
But how well do you know the terminology that’s been all over socials in 2024? Can you sort your brats from your clean girls?
Test your knowledge with our quiz below and let us know how you do!
Entertainment
Dayle Haddon: Former Sports Illustrated model dies of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
Dayle Haddon – the actor, activist and former Sports Illustrated model – has died from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning.
Authorities found the 76-year-old dead in a second-floor bedroom on Friday morning after emergency dispatchers were notified about a person unconscious at the house in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.
A 76-year-old man, later identified as Walter J Blucas, of Erie, is in a critical condition.
Responders detected a high level of carbon monoxide in the property.
Investigators believe the leak was caused by “a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system”.
As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
She also appeared in about two dozen films from the 1970s to 1990s, including 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway, starring John Cusack.
Haddon (left) with Angela Merkel and Christine Lagarde (right) during a meeting of the Gender Equality Advisory Council. Pic: AP
Haddon left modelling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but then had to re-enter the workforce after her husband’s 1991 death.
This time, she found the modelling industry far less friendly: “They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable’,” Haddon told The New York Times in 2003.
Read more on Sky News:
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Working for an advertising agency, she began reaching out to cosmetic companies, telling them there was a growing market to sell beauty products to aging baby boomers.
She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estee Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company’s anti-aging products for more than a decade.
She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s The Early Show.
In 2008, Haddon founded WomenOne, an organisation aimed at advancing educational opportunities for girls and women in marginalised communities, including in Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.
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Haddon’s daughter, Ryan, said in a social media post that her mother was “everyone’s greatest champion. An inspiration to many”.
“A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she said.
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