TikTok, Merlin sign global licensing deal
Short-form mobile video sharer TikTok and digital music licensing hub Merlin have entered a global licensing deal that will see TikTok given access to the music agency’s musical portfolio.
Merlin represents hundreds of members from more than 60 countries, that includes tens of thousands of independent record labels, distributors and artist management companies from virtually every country around the world.
According to its own figures, Merlin's membership “commands over 15% of the global recorded music market and includes repertoire from the world’s most important and successful artists”.
The deal likely complements TikTok's forthcoming music streaming platform Resso, which trialled in a few countries late last year.
TikTok has signed deals with major labels in the past few years, in an effort to avoid regulatory and copyright issues.
The company also recently hired former Microsoft attorney Erich Andersen as vice president and global general counsel. He joined TikTok, owned by Chinese company Bytedance, at a time when the platform faces several copyright-related challenges.
TikTok owes much of its popularity to users’ ability to feature songs in the videos they create and share on the platform. For example, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”, one of the most popular songs of 2019 and recipient of three nominations at yesterday’s Grammy Awards, first gained popularity on TikTok.
However, US rights owners have argued that TikTok is systematically infringing publishers’ copyright.
October 2019, the US National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) wrote to senator Marco Rubio calling for a congressional investigation into TikTok’s alleged copyright violations.
Its deal with Merlin is effective immediately.
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