TikTok Strikes Music Deal with U.S. Firm Despite Trump’s Ban

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By Ding Yi / Aug 19, 2020 01:02 PM / World

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to bar Americans from doing business with TikTok, the short video app has still been able to clinch an agreement with a U.S. company.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has announced a partnership with American music distributor UnitedMasters, according to a company statement on Monday.

The deal makes UnitedMasters the first music distribution company to be integrated into TikTok, the statement said, and will enable TikTok video creators, who produce music, to distribute their songs to other streaming platforms under the partnership with UnitedMasters. TikTok artists would have to agree for their music to be used by UnitedMasters, but if they do so their music would also come under TikTok’s Commercial Music Library, which means it could be used by other TikTok content creators in their videos.

In recent years, TikTok has emerged as one of the most popular online communities that many little-known or undiscovered artists use to showcase their craft and engage with fans.

“Creators are the beating heart of the TikTok community, often inspired by the artists who bring their music to the platform, and providing a haven for them to thrive is key to our mission,” TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer said in a statement.

The announcement comes as TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain. On Friday, President Trump ordered the app to sell its U.S. business within 90 days, and destroy any data from U.S. TikTok users, repeating his claim that the company poses a threat to America’s national security. It is unclear whether the latest order represents a reprieve, after a previous executive order gave the firm just 45 days to exit the U.S. market.

So far, Microsoft has made public its ongoing talks with ByteDance for a potential purchase of TikTok’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with media reports revealing that Twitter and Oracle are also possible bidders for the deal.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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