Candice Lim is joined by culture critic and reporter Cyrena Touros to break down the battle between Universal Music Group and TikTok. On February 1, UMG started pulling their artists’ music from TikTok after their licensing contract expired. This meant creators weren’t able to interact with music from artists like Taylor Swift, Drake and Olivia Rodrigo. UMG claims this drastic move was necessary to ensure appropriate compensation for their artists and songwriters. But TikTok fired back, saying UMG was putting “their own greed above” the interests of UMG’s artists because TikTok is a free marketing and discovery platform for their talent. So who’s the real villain here and how will musicians and creators cope during this battle?

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.