Universal Music Group and TikTok reached an agreement this week

If you’ve been missing some of your favourite artists on TikTok recently, you’ll be happy to hear that they’ll soon be back.

This week, Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents artists like Drake, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, reached a deal with TikTok.

The deal comes after UMG pulled their musicians from the platform on Feb.1 following concerns about issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) and fair compensation.

On May 2, the two sides reached a deal.

TikTok pulls down music by Taylor Swift, Drake and other Universal Music artists

Why Universal artists left TikTok in the first place

UMG is a music entertainment company that represents the interests of major musicians, including Taylor Swift, Adele and Harry Styles.

Harry Styles plays the guitar and sings in an outdoor venue.
Harry Styles, one of the many artists represented by Universal Music Group, performs  on NBC’s Today show at Rockefeller Plaza in May 2022 in New York City, New York. (Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Until recently, it had an agreement with TikTok to make sure those artists were paid fairly when their content was used on the social media platform.

The deal expired on Feb. 1, and the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, so the music was no longer available.

Universal said its artists weren’t receiving enough money for their work, especially when compared to other social media platforms.

They also wanted to protect the artists from having their music and image being replicated by artificial intelligence (AI).

New song heart on my sleeve was made by AI, not Drake and The Weeknd

What’s in the agreement

Now, the two sides have come to an agreement.

In a joint news release, they said the artists will be fairly compensated, without saying how much money they will receive,

They said they will also be protected from AI.

“We will work together to make sure that AI tools are developed responsibly to enable a new era of musical creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music business development, said in the release.

There’s no timeline for when the music will start to appear.

CBC Kids News reached out to both parties for more information but didn’t hear back.

But some TikTokers are already looking forward to it.