TAYLOR Swift has made her fans very happy with her latest music move.
In February, many A-list artists – including Taylor, Drake, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, and Billie Eilish – were taken off TikTok due to an expired licensing pact between the app and Universal Music Group.
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However, on Thursday, many of Taylor‘s, 34, hit songs returned to TikTok, just one week before she drops her highly anticipated 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department on April 19.
She announced her new album after she won her 13th Grammy in the Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.
TikTok users can now use the pop music star’s songs including Cruel Summer, Style (Taylor’s Version), You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version), The Man, Cardigan, and 22 (Taylor’s Version) in their videos.
However, songs from her albums Reputation and Taylor Swift remain off the platform.
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HER BIG RETURN
Once fans caught wind of the major announcement, they flooded X, formerly Twitter, to celebrate.
One fan exclaimed, “If anyone’s gonna have her way in this industry it’s Taylor Swift.”
“Oh we won,” wrote a second Swiftie.
“Glad it’s back,” stated a third.
A fourth said, “That’s great news for Taylor Swift fans on TikTok, It’s nice to see artists have control over their own music and how it’s shared on platforms like TikTok.”
A fifth stated, “Praise be.”
THE UMG DISPUTE
On January 31, 2024, a licensing pact between UMG and TikTok expired after they failed to reach a deal to keep music on the app.
In a statement, UMG claimed that TikTok tried to “bully” UMG into agreeing to a deal that was worth less than the previous one.
“TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans,” they stated.
“We will always fight for our artists and songwriters and stand up for the creative and commercial value of music.”
Taylor Swift songs on TikTok
Photo Credit: Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images
Several of Taylor Swift’s songs have found their way back to TikTok after a huge dispute between the app and her record label, Universal Music Group.
These are just some of the many available Taylor songs on TikTok:
- “Sl*t!” (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
- Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
- Cruel Summer
- Cardigan
- Style (Taylor’s Version)
- Lover
- All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
- ME!
- 22 (Taylor’s Version)
- You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version)
- All Of The Girls You Loved Before
- Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
- The Man
- Mirrorball
- Right Where You Left Me
- Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)
- Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
- Out Of The Woods (Taylor’s Version)
- I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)
In response, TikTok fired back, claiming that it was “sad and disappointing” that UMG “put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”
They continued, “Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.”
Other artists under the UMG label have yet to return.
TAKING BACK WHAT’S HERS
In 2019, Taylor announced that she would be re-recording her first six albums due to a major dispute.
Her previous label, Big Machine Records, sold her masters to Scooter Braun without her knowledge.
The albums she lost the masters to were: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation.
She has since released Taylor’s Versions of Fearless in April 2021, Red in November 2021, Speak Now in July 2023, and 1989 in October 2023.
She has yet to reveal the release dates of her self-titled album and Reputation.
She owns the rights to her Taylor’s Version albums, Lover, Folklore, Evermore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department.
Since Taylor owns the masters to the songs available, she may have made a deal with TikTok.
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