Triller is a fast-growing rival to TikTok worldwide, but has landed in trouble with the music business before over its treatment of copyright.
UPDATE: This has snowballed. Triller has made various accusations of Universal, with the central claim that it doesn’t need a UMG license to host music on its service. UMG has called said statements “removed from reality”.
Last summer, David Israelite, CEO & President of the US-based publishing body NMPA, said: “[Triller] boasts ‘millions of songs at your fingertips,’ however many of those songs have not been properly licensed.
“The pattern of tech platforms asking for forgiveness instead of permission to use songwriter’s work must stop. Triller must legitimize its business by properly licensing all music on its platform.”
“Triller has shamefully withheld payments owed to our artists and refuses to negotiate a license going forward.”
Universal Music Group statement
Today (February 5), Universal Music Group has echoed this sentiment, and taken down its huge music catalog from the service.
A Universal Music Group spokesperson said: “We will not work with platforms that do not value artists. Triller has shamefully withheld payments owed to our artists and refuses to negotiate a license going forward.
“We have no alternative except to remove our music from Triller, effective immediately.”
UPDATE: Triller’s Los Angeles-based CEO, Mike Lu, says he learned about Universal’s music takedown on Triller this morning via press reports (very possibly, this press report).
He comments in a statement: “This has to be a bad ‘Punk’d’ episode. I’m waiting for Ashton to jump out of my closet.
“Our relationship with UMG is solid. Its biggest artists are investors and partners in Triller and Universal owns part of Triller. We find it hard to believe UMG wouldn’t give us any warning or notice but just tell us via press.”
“Our relationship with UMG is solid. Its biggest artists are investors and partners in Triller and Universal owns part of Triller. We find it hard to believe UMG wouldn’t give us any warning or notice but just tell us via press.”
Mike Lu, Triller
Triller announced in June 2018 that it had signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group – a licensing deal that has now, presumably, expired.
In the last quarter of 2020, reports said that Triller was looking at going public, having secured a $100 million funding round at a $1.25 billion valuation.
Triller recently paid $50 million, according to CNBC, for the rights to the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. fight.
In November last year, Triller announced that it had hired Tuhin Roy in a senior role as Operating Principal. He left his position as SVP, Innovation at Universal to join Triller.
