Amid continued uncertainty about a future sale, spin-off or shutdown in the US (or, indeed, none of the above), TikTok’s music licensing work continues.
Just before Christmas the company signed a new agreement with Warner Music Group covering both recordings and publishing rights.
Bloomberg reported the news of the deal, and cited the recent claim by WMG boss Steve Cooper that the company is now generating hundreds of millions of dollars a year from UGC-focused deals with the likes of Facebook, Snap and TikTok.
WMG has a longstanding relationship with the latter company: it was the first major label to strike a deal with TikTok forerunner Musical·ly, back in 2016.
There are also some familiar faces on the other side of the negotiating table now: former WMG execs Ole Obermann and Tracy Gardner now play key roles overseeing TikTok’s licensing and partnerships with the music industry.
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