Is Taylor Swift's music back on TikTok?

Santa Monica, California - After being pulled amid a legal dispute between Universal Music Group and TikTok, Taylor Swift's music has returned to the popular platform – some of it, at least!

Taylor Swift's music is back on TikTok, despite an ongoing legal dispute between her label, Universal Music Group, and the popular video-sharing platform.
Taylor Swift's music is back on TikTok, despite an ongoing legal dispute between her label, Universal Music Group, and the popular video-sharing platform.  © KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

After more than two months off the platform, portions of the 34-year-old's discography have returned to TikTok, restoring the sound of previous videos and allowing users to create new posts using the tracks.

It is currently believed that Swift struck her own deal with TikTok, as music from UMG's other artists – including Adele, Ariana Grande, and Bad Bunny – remains unavailable.

On January 31, UMG and Tiktok's licensing agreement came to an end, and the two were unable to agree on a new deal.

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UMG accused the app of creating a "music-based business, without paying fair value for the music," while TikTok claimed the label "put their own greed above the interests of their artists."

Notably, all of the Swift songs available to TikTok users are among the releases of which she owns the masters, consisting of 2019's Lover onward.

Why is some of Taylor Swift's music still unavailable on TikTok?

Taylor Swift has seemingly struck her own deal with TikTok to put the music she owns the masters of back on the platform.
Taylor Swift has seemingly struck her own deal with TikTok to put the music she owns the masters of back on the platform.  © MATT WINKELMEYER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

In 2020, Swift famously began re-recording her first six albums, which had been created under Big Machine Records, after their masters were sold without her consent in a controversial deal led by executive Scooter Braun.

Beginning with 2021's Fearless (Taylor's Version), the Anti-Hero artist has been gradually rolling out new recordings to own the songs again, and Swifties have ditched the original records in favor of the new ones as a show of support.

These "Taylor's Version" albums are the ones now made available on TikTok, further suggesting Swift was able to score a private deal for the music she controls. Songs from albums recorded after Swift left Big Machine, including folklore, evermore, and Midnights, are also on the platform.

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The Grammy winner employed a similar tactic with The Eras Tour concert film, where Swift sidestepped movie studios and made a direct deal with AMC Theatres for distribution.

Swift revealed in her TIME Magazine Person of the Year feature that she and her team met with "all of the studios" but did not believe they saw the movie's true value.

"Ultimately, I did what I tend to do more and more often these days, which is to bet on myself," she said.

Her return to TikTok comes just a week before the release of her next album, the all-new Tortured Poets Department, on April 19.

Cover photo: KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

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