Songs by artists signed to Universal Music Group (UMG) are vanishing from TikTok as the two entities fail to reach a new deal on content licensing. High-profile artists like Taylor Swift and Drake had their music unavailable on TikTok as of Thursday morning, following the expiration of the licensing agreement between UMG and the Chinese tech giant ByteDance-owned platform.

UMG accused TikTok of engaging in bullying and intimidation during contract negotiations, alleging that TikTok proposed compensating artists and songwriters at a significantly lower rate compared to other major social platforms. Furthermore, UMG claimed that TikTok is allowing its platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings.

In response, TikTok accused UMG of prioritizing its “own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.” A UMG spokesperson mentioned to CNBC that, since the licensing agreement expired, “TikTok is now removing the audio.”

TikTok, a platform known for propelling songs, even older ones, to viral status through user-generated videos, has become a significant player in the music industry. However, the debate over the adequacy of payments to artists by TikTok has been ongoing.

UMG highlighted that despite TikTok‘s massive user base and increasing advertising revenue, only 1% of its total revenue comes from the platform. The dispute underscores the broader challenges and negotiations between social media platforms and music labels as they grapple with compensating artists for their content.

As the public spat unfolds, it remains to be seen how the dispute will impact both TikTok‘s content offerings and the relationship between major music labels and social media platforms. TikTok, at the forefront of music discovery and promotion, plays a crucial role in shaping the music industry’s landscape.