TikTok scores new deal with Sony
App secures rights to music made by artists under record label group
TikTok has secured the rights to recordings from thousands of artists, including Beyoncé and Travis Scott, under a new deal with Sony Music Entertainment that will deepen ties between the world’s second largest record label group and the popular video app.
The deal ensures that TikTok customers will continue to be able to use songs from Sony’s labels, which include Columbia Records and RCA, the companies said. The pact also calls for the app to collaborate with Sony’s labels on programs to market its artists and identify emerging talent.
TikTok is paying Sony a significant increase over the previous deal for the rights, according to a person familiar with the pact who asked not to be identified because the terms aren’t public. The two companies declined to comment on the contract in any detail.
“We believe that we should share value with the music industry,” said Ole Obermann, TikTok’s head of global music. “As we grow the value of the industry should grow.”
Sony and TikTok have been negotiating a contract renewal for months, a period marked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to ban the app in the U.S., where it has more than 100 million users. But the threat has receded in recent weeks. On Friday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania blocked a broad set of government restrictions designed to curb the use of TikTok in the U.S. TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd, also forged a deal to sell a stake in the app to Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc.
The deal with Sony is a vote of confidence from the music industry that the app is a vital part of their future business.
TikTok has attracted about 700 million users worldwide by offering an addictive loop of videos set to music, and the app lets record companies put their songs in front of a young, influential music listener. For Sony, TikTok has boosted both older songs, like Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride,” and newer ones, like Doja Cat’s “Say So” and 24kGoldn’s “Mood.”
“If you think about the number of artists who’ve blown up on TikTok over the last 12 months for Sony, it’s a really big list,” Obermann said. “Our relationship with all of the majors, Sony included, is getting better and better.”
TikTok had already proven its ability to make a song go viral with “Old Town Road,” the earworm from a neophyte rapper that spent 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts.