---
title: TikTok vs. record labels
description: TikTok is huge now, and music labels want a bigger piece of the pie.
---

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# [TikTok vs. record labels](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/11092022-tiktok-vs-record-labels)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Nov 9, 2022 10:04:17 AM

In the beginning, TikTok paid labels a flat fee to license music for use in users’ videos.

Today, TikTok is massive:

- It earned **$4B** in revenue in 2021 and is on track to earn **$12B** in 2022.
- There are **1B+** users with videos featuring music on the platform.

Now, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group — which, combined, hold [70%+](https://musically.com/2022/04/06/majors-market-share-in-2021/) of market share — want TikTok to fork over more in advertising revenue and royalties, [per](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-08/record-labels-ask-tiktok-to-share-more-of-its-12-billion?sref=3Ac2yX40) *Bloomberg*.

**TikTok…**

… is a huge music marketer, surfacing new talent — 75% of US TikTok users [find](https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/year-on-tiktok-music-report-2021) new music there — and promoting artists.

Songs can also go viral, like Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” used in [24m+](https://www.newsweek.com/25-songs-that-totally-blew-tiktok-1582392) videos. But, due to that flat fee, they don’t generate extra revenue.

- One exec says TikTok should be paying **2x-10x** more, based on similar agreements with other platforms, per* Bloomberg*.
- For example, YouTube paid the music industry **$6B+** between July 2021 and June 2022.

TikTok argues it shouldn’t have to pay the same as music platforms ‘cause it isn’t one.

**Or is it?**

TikTok parent company ByteDance has a music streamer, called [Resso](https://thehustle.co/12292021-tiktok-spotify/), in Indonesia, Brazil, and India with plans to expand.

Other clues:

- It recently [registered](https://thehustle.co/08042022-tiktok-music/) a trademark for a “TikTok Music” app.
- Its SoundOn feature allows artists to upload and earn royalties on their music.
- It’s hiring people to [sign and develop](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/still-convinced-that-tiktok-and-bytedance-arent/) new artists.

TikTok and the labels will likely come to an agreement, or at least an extension, before contracts expire in a few months. But TikTok may ultimately end up on top.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/11092022-tiktok-vs-record-labels)

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