In a major blow to TikTok trends everywhere, Universal Music Group (UMG) in an announcement say they will take their music off of the wildly popular social media platform after failing to reach a deal that would see artists and songwriters fairly compensated. It’s unclear how this will affect UMG’s artists in the continent and it might be too early to say.

TikTok has made it possible for African artists to reach audiences all over the world, with a lot of their music triggering global trends with views and participants in the millions. In 2019, Love Nwantiti crooner CKay had his single go viral on the app, but it didn’t simply exist there. The single went on to break records around the world, leading the Nigerian singer to become the first African artist to hit 20 million listeners on Spotify in 2021. Furthermore, one could argue that Rema’s hit single “Calm Down” had TikTok to thank for a large part of its global success and reach. The app also, seemingly, created a fair playing field for unexposed artists to grab the attention of its users. In 2021, Somali singer Nimco Happy’s single “Isii Nafta (Love You More Than My Life)” captured the world as it trended on TikTok for a number of weeks.

The Dutch-American music corporation said in an open letter on Wednesday that the app, “proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay.” In response TikTok spat back in their own statement saying that the music company is prioritizing “their own greed above the interests of artists and songwriters.”

African artists represented by UMG include South African rapper Nasty C, Nigerian star Mr Eazi, Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, and more. The music company say a mutually beneficial agreement could not be reached in time to renew their licensing contract set to expire on January 31, 2024.

In the letter, UMG claim that their conversations with the Chinese-owned TikTok stagnated around topics such as “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.” The fiery letter had UMG say that TikTok had "attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth." The group further allege that the app retaliated by removing the music of some UMG’s lesser known artists, while keeping the work of its “audience-driving global stars” available to creators.

TikTok boasts an estimated 1.5 billion monthly user base, most of whom create videos to the sounds of their favorite or trending songs. Around 60 percent of all TikTok videos contain music, with eight out of 10 of the app’s most popular artists belonging to UMG. On the other hand, TikTok makes up 1 percent of UMG’s advertising revenue.