The National Music Publishers’ Association has called for the “scrutiny” of TikTok, writing that the video-sharing platform has “consistently violated US copyright law and the rights of songwriters and music publishers”.
Last Wednesday (October 9), Senator Marco Rubio asked the US Government to launch an investigation into Bytedance owned video-sharing platform TikTok over censorship concerns.
In 2017, music karaoke app Musical.ly was bought by Bytedance, reportedly for more than $800 million.
Bytedance then announced in 2018 that it would be folding Musical.ly into TikTok, which has been downloaded more than 1 billion times.
In a letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Rubio asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to launch an investigation into the acquisition.
Wrote Rubio: “The Chinese government’s nefarious efforts to censor information inside free societies around the world cannot be accepted and pose serious long-term challenges to the U.S. and our allies.”
Today (October 16), in a letter sent to Senator Marco Rubio and others, NMPA President & CEO David Israelite said that the association is ‘pleased’ to see that a review of TikTok has been requested over censorship concerns and expressed its own concerns over copyright infringement on the platform.
Israelite says that “while some publishers have been able to negotiate with TikTok to license their catalogs, a large part of [the publishing] industry does not have agreements in place, meaning numerous works continue to be used unlawfully as the platform’s popularity grows exponentially”.
“The scale of TikTok’s copyright infringement in the U.S. is likely considerable and deserves scrutiny.”
David Israelite
Said Israelite: “Many videos uploaded to TikTok incorporate musical works that have not been licensed and for which copyright owners are not being paid.
“The scale of TikTok’s copyright infringement in the U.S. is likely considerable and deserves scrutiny.
“We hope that if Congress looks further into matters relating to TikTok that copyright theft is included in the scope of its examination.”
“TikTok has broad licensing coverage across the music publishing industry covering many thousands of publishers and songwriters and millions of copyrights, and has paid royalties since its inception.”
TikTok spokesperson
UPDATE: A TikTok spokesperson has provided the following statement: “TikTok has broad licensing coverage across the music publishing industry covering many thousands of publishers and songwriters and millions of copyrights, and has paid royalties since its inception.
“The platform has spurred the success of artists and songwriters worldwide through its viral meme culture, driving chart hits and building household names.
“We are proud to engage with and support the music community.”
You can read the letter in full below:
Dear Senator Rubio:
As the association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners, NMPA was pleased to see the letter that you sent Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin requesting that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) launch a review of the national security implications of TikTok and its recent acquisition of Muiscal.ly.
In addition to important censorship concerns, it appears that TikTok has consistently violated U.S. copyright law and the rights of songwriters and music publishers. Many videos uploaded to TikTok incorporate musical works that have not been licensed and for which copyright owners are not being paid.
While some publishers have been able to negotiate with TikTok to license their catalogs, a large part of our industry does not have agreements in place meaning numerous works continue to be used unlawfully as the platform’s popularity grows exponentially.
As your letter recognized, TikTok is among the most downloaded apps in the world. In fact, it is valued significantly higher than even the largest streaming platforms in the U.S. According to recent data by Sensor Tower, the platform hit 1 billion downloads worldwide in February of this year, of which nearly 100 million were in the United States.
It is deeply concerning to our industry that a company so large which has a model that fundamentally integrates musical works can get away with not lawfully compensating copyright owners.
All platforms that are widely used within the U.S. must respect our laws and it is our role to ensure music creators are paid fairly for their work, particularly as it is critical to the success of apps like TikTok.
The scale of TikTok’s copyright infringement in the U.S. is likely considerable and deserves scrutiny. We hope that if Congress looks further into matters relating to TikTok that copyright theft is included in the scope of its examination.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
David Israelite
President & CEO
National Music Publishers’ Association Music Business Worldwide
