Tik Tok I music I TikTok wants to know if users can live with less music I apps | TECHNOLOGY

Content creators will not be able to use certain songs, the company reported in a statement. The test is being conducted with a subset of TikTok users in Australia.

“This will only affect certain music and is a work in progress as we look at how sounds are accessed and added to videos, as well as looking to improve and enhance the broader sound library”the company said.

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The effort worries major record labels, which believe TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. will ultimately use the test results as an excuse to underpay them.

TikTok and the record labels disagree on the value of music in the overall popularity of the app. Music rights holders argue that their songs are central to TikTok’s appeal, while TikTok sees music as just one part of a larger entertainment experience.

If app usage holds steady with less music, TikTok could argue that it doesn’t need to pay music rights holders as much. If usage drops, it will help music companies make their claims.

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Rights holders have been lobbying TikTok to give them a bigger share of the revenue it makes from advertising. He currently pays them a fixed amount.

Record labels would like ByteDance to invest more in paid streaming and link TikTok to Resso, a paid streaming service also owned by the company.

That way, ByteDance could use TikTok, which has attracted more than a billion users, as a funnel into the more lucrative business of streaming music. Sony Music pulled its songs from Resso last year after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

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