Universal Music Group and TikTok said on Thursday that they had reached a new licensing agreement to restore the label’s songs and artists to the social media platform and give musicians more protection from artificial intelligence.
Click here to read the story at reuters.com.
Discussion Questions:
- What is licensing?
- Why is licensing important to artists and bands in the music business?
- Why is it important to a company like TikTok?
- In this case, is TikTok the licensee or licensor?
- Why is that an important distinction from a music perspective?
- Why did Universal Music Group pull their music from TikTok?
- Based on what you learned in this news story, why are songs and artists from Universal Music Group back on TikTok?
- What impact could this agreement have on the broader music industry, especially in terms of how music is distributed and consumed?
- What are ethics?
- What are the ethical implications of using licensed music on social media platforms. How does it affect the original artists?
- Why is artificial intelligence (AI) a concern for musicians?
- How might the new licensing agreement provide “more protection from artificial intelligence” for musicians? Why is this important?
- How could this agreement affect content creators on TikTok who use Universal Music Group’s songs in their videos? Why does that matter?