Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
TikTok is now taking down all the songs written or co-written by artists signed to Universal Music Group (UMG) as the platform’s battle over music rights drags on.
“We are in the process of carrying out Universal Music Group’s requirement to remove all songs that have been written (or co-written) by a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, based on information they have provided,” TikTok writes in a statement on its website. “Their actions not only affect the songwriters and artists that they represent, but now also impact many artists and songwriters not signed to Universal.”
On Tuesday, Variety reported that TikTok was set to lose even more UMG songs, but it wasn’t clear how many would be affected. This will also impact…