More Songs to be Removed After NMPA Declines Tiktok License Renewal

The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has recently announced that they will not be renewing their contract with tikTok.

The relationship between the music industry and TikTok is currently showing no sign of reconciliation. After Universal Music Group (UMG) pulled its music from the app, NMPA has announced they do not intend to continue to give the app access to its catalog. The NMPA is currently the largest music publishing body in the country. 

The NMPA represents a large collection of music publishers and songwriters dominating the industry.  With music across a vast selection of genres and worldwide outreach, their catalog includes music by some of the biggest EDM superstars including Skrillex and Diplo. The NMPA has a history that dates back as far as 1917. 

 In a letter, the NMPA claims to have concerns about TikTok’s licensing practices. Universal Music Group pulled their music over similar concerns for their artists and songwriters. One of their biggest concerns is their low royalty payments to artists. Other big music publishers like Sony and Warner Chapell have not yet joined in on the boycott.

The contract between TikTok and NMPA is set to expire on April 30th. The NMPA also offered to negotiate with TikTok on behalf of interested members. With less music outreach on TikTok, artists and publishers will have to find new ways to promote their music that does not include the Gen Z-dominated app. 

TikTok does not yet seem to have budged despite the loss of UMG’s music. This move could also impact the livelihoods of smaller artists. Smaller labels have not yet followed suit with removing their music from the platform.

Millions of songs have already disappeared from TikTok spurring a string of videos of people comedically trying to recreate their favorite songs. Artists have even joined in themselves by talking about their music instead of playing a snippet of the song on TikTok. The summer could look much different on the app if more music is removed from the app.