TikTok Archives - Page 10 of 46

Metro Boomin Celebrates Universal Music Group’s TikTok Departure

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

In a surprising turn of events, renowned producer Metro Boomin has expressed his relief over the recent decision by Universal Music Group (UMG) to sever ties with TikTok. The news, which surfaced on Tuesday (January 30), revealed a disagreement leading to the removal of UMG’s entire catalog from the popular social media platform. Reacting to the announcement, one Twitter user noted, “Wow, just like that, the TikTok era of music is over.” Metro Boomin stumbled upon the tweet and responded with a GIF featuring LeBron James exclaiming, “It’s About Damn Time,” a sentiment shared by many in the music industry.

Furthermore, taking the opportunity to elaborate on his perspective, Metro Boomin later posted his thoughts on the matter. “I love the creativity and appreciation the kids show for the music on TikTok, but I don’t like the forced pandering from artists and labels that results in these lifeless and soulless records,” he expressed. The producer’s candid remarks shed light on the dichotomy within the music industry’s relationship with TikTok. While acknowledging the platform’s ability to showcase creativity and generate appreciation for music among younger audiences, Metro Boomin highlighted his disdain. He perceives the artificial and insincere approach by some artists and labels in creating content specifically tailored for TikTok.

Read More: Metro Boomin 7 Best Beats

Metro Boomin Is Not A Fan Of TikTok Era Of Music

https://t.co/aEQSKNrs7W pic.twitter.com/TVwFqGxaqb

— Metro Boomin (@MetroBoomin) January 31, 2024

Furthermore, the decision by UMG to part ways with TikTok has sparked conversations. People are debating about the evolving dynamics between the music industry and social media platforms. Metro Boomin’s perspective adds a valuable voice to the ongoing discourse. Emphasizing the delicate balance between authentic artistic expression and strategic marketing efforts in the digital age.

Moreover, as the TikTok era undergoes a transformation with major players like UMG stepping back, it remains to be seen how this shift will impact the music landscape and the creative freedom of artists. Metro Boomin’s candid take serves as a glimpse into the complexities of navigating the intersection of artistry and digital platforms. Urging for a more genuine and soulful approach in the creation of musical content for the next generation. What are your thoughts on this situation? Let us know on HNHH!

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Muni Long Calls Out UMG As It Removes Music From TikTok

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Earlier this week, Universal Music Group threatened to pull its artists’ music from TikTok. Reportedly, this is all over a contract dispute, and Muni Long isn’t having it. The performer took to social media today to weigh in on the debacle, making it clear that she’d prefer for her music to stay on the platform. “I mean it’s not like they are refusing to support my music until I prove that it’s valuable by investing my own money and maybe possibly lucking up on a hot TikTok trend or anything like that,” she captioned a clip of herself, looking undoubtedly fed up.

“Universal Music Group said,” text in the clip also reads alongside the audio, “That song. Y’all know which one I’m talking about. Wrap it up by the weekend.” Unfortunately, the platform wasn’t able to reach an agreement with UMG. The company demanded fair compensation for artists, “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI,” and more.

Muni Long Shares Her Thoughts On UMG’s TikTok Takedowns

TikTok shared a statement in response, accusing UMG of being greedy, and putting their needs ahead of those of artists and their fans. “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” the statement reads. “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.”

It continued, “TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.” What do you think of Muni Long weighing in on UMG removing several of its artists’ songs from TikTok? Do you agree with her? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

[Via]

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North West Channels Nicki Minaj In New TikTok Showcasing Her Makeup Skills

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Nicki Minaj has been a hot topic in the news for the past few days, mostly due to her dramatic reaction to Megan Thee Stallion’s “HISS” single. The Queen of Rap has been busy liking tweets slandering the Houston native and others supporting her, while The Barbz stand behind their favourite femcee. Minaj’s fanbase went so far as to doxx the information for Thee Stallion’s late mother’s gravesite, leading Cardi B’s fans to step up in the “Big Ole Freak” hitmaker’s defense, doing the same with Nicki’s dad’s cemetery location. With so much tension in the air, social media users have been carefully selecting which songs and audio snippets they use in their posts, so as not to take sides. Interestingly, 10-year-old North West used a soundbite of Minaj in one of her most recent TikToks, which now has the internet talking.

“I don’t think you understand, I’m obsessed,” the tween mouths along with the “Barbie Dreams” artist in the video below. Seeing as her mother, Kim Kardashian, is something of a makeup mogul, it’s not surprising to see Miss Westie already following in her footsteps. However, instead of perfecting a smokey eye and nude lip like the reality starlet, North is channeling her inner Alien Superstar.

North West Gets Her Creativity from Both Parents

@kimandnorth

♬ Originalton – 𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖆 ⚯͛

Kimye’s eldest covered her face and neck in hot pink facepaint while experimenting, also making her eyebrows stand out with a darker shade of the same colour. Her lips were a beautiful ombre with various shades of purple, and subtle false lashes helped her brown eyes stand out.

Even if Ye doesn’t fully approve, his firstborn continues to express herself and her various talents on TikTok for the world to see. Speaking of Yeezy, he shocked fans by reuniting with ex-wife Kim Kardashian for a night out with North West and her friends last month. Read more about that at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.

[Via]

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Is TikTok Removing Music?

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Let’s cut to the chase: Yes, TikTok has removed a ton of music from its platform. If you haven’t heard, the licensing agreement between TikTok and Universal Music Group expired yesterday, and as a result, all UMG artists‘ music must be removed or TikTok could face legal action for copyright infringement. That means artists like Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and many, many, MANY more have been nixed, and no one is quite sure when or if they’ll be back, because UMG is adamant that TikTok hasn’t been negotiating in good faith.

Why Did UMG Remove Its Artists From TikTok?

Long story short, UMG’s leadership doesn’t feel that TikTok is offering fair market value for its artists. UMG also argues that while TikTok is building its own music platform, TikTok Music, and working on AI tools that may help users imitate real-life artists, it’s also undermining the value of any new licensing agreement, since the app could soon be flooded with more songs like AI-generated Drake song “Heart On My Sleeve.” This has been a pain point for the entire recording industry as these tools proliferate and possibly endanger fans’ interest in waiting for (and buying) the real artists’ actual songs.

In an open letter published on the company’s website on Tuesday (January 30), UMG wrote:

TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.

On AI, TikTok is allowing the platform to be flooded with AI-generated recordings—as well as developing tools to enable, promote and encourage AI music creation on the platform itself – and then demanding a contractual right which would allow this content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists, in a move that is nothing short of sponsoring artist replacement by AI.

Further, TikTok makes little effort to deal with the vast amounts of content on its platform that infringe our artists’ music and it has offered no meaningful solutions to the rising tide of content adjacency issues, let alone the tidal wave of hate speech, bigotry, bullying and harassment on the platform. The only means available to seek the removal of infringing or problematic content (such as pornographic deepfakes of artists) is through the monumentally cumbersome and inefficient process which equates to the digital equivalent of “Whack-a-Mole.”

While TikTok denied these accusations in a statement sent to Billboard, it also doesn’t appear that either company has any intentions to budge for the foreseeable future.

Why Aren’t Drake’s Songs On TikTok?

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Millions of people have developed the subconscious habit to open TikTok first thing in the morning, and if that’s you, you might notice that TikTok sounds different today, February 1: Drake is among many artists whose catalogs are no longer available under the “Sounds” tab to soundtrack a TikTok.

Here’s why.

Why Aren’t Drake’s Songs On TikTok?

In short, Universal Music Group (UMG) wasn’t bluffing. On Tuesday, January 30, UMG posted an open letter to address its expiring contract with TikTok.

“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues — appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users,” it reads, in part. UMG additionally relayed that “TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal” during negotiations, leading to UMG no longer licensing UMG artists’ catalogs to TikTok.

UMG is one of the most vast label umbrellas in music. So, while Drake is signed to Republic Records, Republic falls under the UMG umbrella. Therefore, Drake’s music was stripped from TikTok.

TikTok released its own (much shorter) statement on Tuesday, as seen below:

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

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.

TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”

Goodbye Taylor Swift, Drake, Billie Eilish, And So On: UMG Has Officially Removed Its Artists’ Music From TikTok

February 1, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Getty Image

It happened: Universal Music Group has removed its artists’ songs from TikTok. As of today (February 1), official songs from artists signed to UMG labels no longer appear under the “Sounds” tab on the TikTok app, and previously published videos that featured those songs now have muted audio.

UMG has officially started removing their artists’ catalogs from TikTok.

Official songs are no longer appearing for UMG artists under the ‘sounds’ tab, with the exception of fan-made edits. pic.twitter.com/Aw8MRpPDe4

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 1, 2024

Impacted artists include Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Steve Lacy, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, Elton John, J Balvin, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Post Malone, and many others.

TikTok and UMG had a licensing agreement that expired yesterday (January 31), and the day before it did, there were clear indications that negotiations on a new contract were not going well.

UMG shared an open letter about the situation, which read in part:

“As our negotiations continued, TikTok 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. How did it try to intimidate us? By selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars.

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.

We will never do that.”

TikTok then shared a response that reads in full:

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

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.

TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”

At the moment, it’s not clear when or if a new licensing agreement between TikTok and UMG will be reached, and when/if the artists’ music will return to TikTok.

Which UMG Artists Will Be Removed From TikTok?

January 31, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Beef between two major media companies was made public yesterday (January 30), and the feud could have a noteworthy impact on the day-to-day content people consume.

TikTok and Universal Music Group have a licensing agreement that expires today, and this agreement allows UMG songs to appear on the TikTok platform and be utilized in videos from TikTok users. Negotiations on a new contract have apparently been going poorly, as indicated by the open letters both companies shared criticizing each other. If a new deal isn’t reached, music by UMG artists could soon leave TikTok.

Which UMG Artists Will Be Removed From TikTok?

Let’s start by looking at what UMG is: Broadly speaking, it’s a massive company that owns a ton of recognizable record labels, including but not limited to Interscope, Geffen, Capitol, Def Jam, Island, Polydor, Republic, and Virgin Music Group.

So, presumably, in the event that a new licensing agreement is not reached, all acts on those labels would see their music leave TikTok. That includes so many hit-making artists, like Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Steve Lacy, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, Elton John, J Balvin, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, and Post Malone.

Those artists have an estimated 950 trillion streams between them (note: exaggerated estimate for comedic effect only), and a ton of beloved acts not even mentioned above are also under the UMG umbrella. So, should their music be wiped off of TikTok, it would be a noticeable loss for the platform’s users.

Why Is UMG Removing Its Artists From TikTok?

January 31, 2024 by newhiphopnews

If you’ve been on TikTok anytime in the past couple of days, the odds are high you’ve seen some of your favorite creators fretting about an upcoming change that could result in devastating potentially millions of videos on the platform. If TikTok can’t reach a deal to renew its music licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, the label says it plans to pull its entire catalog from the app, resulting in any video utilizing UMG artists’ songs to be muted, beginning when the agreement expires today. Otherwise, TikTok could open itself to legal liability for copyright infringement. So…

Why Is UMG Removing Its Artists From TikTok?

In an open letter published on the company’s website on Tuesday (January 30), UMG expresses a number of concerns about an ongoing partnership with the app. Chief among them is ensuring fair monetary value for its artists’ work as TikTok seeks to launch its own music-based business (naturally). Meanwhile, UMG also says it has concerns about hate and harassment on the app and TikTok not taking a firm stance when it comes to “AI”-generated works, a controversial topic these days.

UMG alleges that “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay” and that it “demanded a contractual right which would allow [AI] content to massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists.” This is while TikTok itself is developing AI tools that’d make it easier to do so.

Labels under UMG include Interscope and its subsidiaries, the Capitol Music Group umbrella, Republic Records, Island Records, Def Jam, and more. UMG artists include some of the biggest in the world: Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Drake, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, SZA, Taylor Swift, and more.

However, pulling these acts from TikTok could be risky for the label as well; the app has increasingly become one of the biggest drivers for new singles and artists to gain popularity. For example, JID, who is signed to Dreamville under Interscope, has experienced a massive surge of interest in his song “Surround Sound” due to a TikTok trend in which creators tape their phones to their ceilings and dance under them (it’s sillly, but hey, it works). Meanwhile, older songs often find second lives on the app, such as The Weeknd’s “Die For You” and Miguel’s “Sure Thing.”

TikTok itself pointed this out in its response, telling Billboard, “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. 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. TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”

TikTok recently agreed to a licensing deal with Warner Music Group (of which Uproxx is an independent subsidiary) last July, allowing TikTok to use its catalog on the TikTok Music platform, saying that the deal would benefit artists. It remains to be seen how UMG pulling out will affect its business and artists, but TikTok wouldn’t be getting away unscathed, as a huge part of the appeal for its users is supporting their videos with popular music.

Foggieraw Is Shooting For The Stars On New “Destiny” Single

January 29, 2024 by newhiphopnews

More rising artists are utilizing the power of social media like never before, including Foggieraw. Emerging as an online sensation, Foggieraw’s is a story of an artist capitalizing on our technology-driven culture. The rapper-singer has been long taking over TikTok For You Pages worldwide with his viral tracks and captivating videos that have been shared and stitched by the millions.

The Maryland star made waves with his popular track “Psalms 62,” where he spoke the religious text over an instrumental to Alicia Keys’s “You Don’t Know My Name.” The Grammy winner also caught wind of Foggieraw’s interpretation of her production and cosigned his talents. Keys would later appear in a video alongside the rapper while playing the piano as he performed his record. Moreover, this marked the first time Keys cleared “You Don’t Know My Name” for any artist.

As more artists like Ari Lennox, idk, and SZA praise Foggieraw’s skills, he returns with his latest single, “Destiny.” Of course, as with any Foggie release, the vibes are unmatched as he speaks about stepping into his greatness. Further, with a delivery and cadence that is unlike any other on the scene currently, “Destiny” once again sets Foggieraw apart—and up the ladder of success in this industry.

Check out “Destiny” by Foggieraw and let us know what you think of the DMV star’s latest release.

Quotable Lyrics

I got the hottest chick up in the game like Natalie Portman
Think I’m married to the game and never divorcin’
Vibrations, baritone, releasin’ endorphins
I fathered all these clowns, I’m leavin’ ’em orphans, damn, I’m leavin’ ’em, mm

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Fans Call For Azealia Banks To Weigh In On Nicki Minaj & Megan Thee Stallion Beef

January 27, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Fans on TikTok have asked for Azealia Banks to weigh in on the current beef between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion. “Where’s Azealia Banks [3x Shouting Emojis, 2x Sobbing Emojis]. We need you honey,” one commentator wrote on the app. Many other commenters joined in, asking for the controversial musician to weigh in. It remains to be seen if Banks will step into the arena and share her thoughts on the drama that has captured social media’s attention.

Banks has previously stepped in to protect Minaj. When Minaj was feuding with Kanye West over her refusal to clear “New Body”, Banks went after West. “Okay. Now I’m really pissed the f-ck off. Regardless of how I feel about PF2, did fat smelly loser Kanye west really just try step all over Nicki’s release? Did I hear correctly when he tried to take credit for supporting her career?????” Banks wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Who Is Roman Zolanski? Fans Discuss Problematic Nicki Minaj Alter Ego

Meanwhile, the current beef has led some fans to take a closer look at “Roman Zolanski”, the alter ego that Minaj occasionally drops verses as. However, many fans are now only learning for the first time that Minaj has never shied from Roman’s name being a play on that of Roman Polanski. Polanski is an Oscar-winning director who is perhaps best known for pleading guilty to statutory rape of a minor. The girl was 13 at the time of the rape and had also been drugged by Polanski.

This has all been thrown into sharp relief after Megan’s diss on “Hiss” which took aim at Minaj’s husband. Kenneth Petty is also a convicted sex offender, having served four years in prison for the attempted rape of a minor in 1996. Some people believe Megan went too far. However, many others are starting to see the many problematic links that Minaj has to child sex offenders.

[via]

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