TikTok’s decision to disintermediate Merlin and walk away from negotiations to renew its current license has sparked widespread concern across the global music industry. The platform is contacting independent music companies directly to try to reach individual deals. Many fear that with this move TikTok intends to pay less for music.

Merlin acts as the licensing partner for the independent sector, playing a crucial role in providing efficiencies for digital platforms, promoting diversity and consumer choice, as well as delivering market access and value for its members. With more than 500 members representing over 30.000 record labels, distributors, and rights holders around the world, Merlin currently accounts for 15% of the global recorded music market and has deals with over 40 digital services. 

“TikTok’s decision to walk away from Merlin puts independent labels in an impossible place with their artists: it’s a choice between their music being available on the platform or ensuring fair license terms.” explains Zena White, WIN Chair. Noemí Planas, WIN CEO, adds that “Merlin was created by independent music companies to compete at the highest level and ensure they can access the best terms. TikTok’s decision poses risks to cultural diversity, market access, and fair payment for independents. But this is not just about TikTok. We urge policymakers around the world to regulate the tech sector to ensure a truly competitive market where creators' rights are protected from abusive and monopolistic behavior.” TikTok continues to resist calls from the sector to address the existing ‘value gap’, which has a negative impact on the independents’ ability to defend their music and rights. 

Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is the world’s largest social media platform after Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Asia is home to 6 of the top 10 countries by number of users and local music companies fear TikTok's decision threatens the level playing field. Jong-Gill Shin, Secretary General of the Record Label Industry Association of Korea (LIAK) says: “LIAK expresses profound concern over the current circumstances, which pose a significant risk of fostering discrimination against creative works. It is imperative that all music, regardless of whether it originates from major or independent sectors, be accorded equal value and recognition. We unequivocally oppose TikTok’s recent attempts that threaten to undermine our efforts to secure equitable terms. Aligned with our fellow WIN members globally, we stand resolute in our commitment to upholding and safeguarding the intrinsic value of independent music.” China's neighbors have also raised concerns about TikTok's compliance with data protection laws, with India banning the app over national security concerns.

In the United States, the second-largest market by number of TikTok users with 120.5 million, concerns are raised about abuse of power from the platform. In April, President Biden signed a law that would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake within a year. Richard Burgess, CEO of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), comments: “TikTok’s unwillingness to negotiate a licensing deal with Merlin is just the latest example of the platform doing whatever it can to avoid compensating artists fairly. Now, more than ever, we need Congress to enact the Protect Working Musicians Act and give musicians, songwriters, independent labels, and publishers the ability to negotiate collectively in the marketplace.”

Similar concerns are raised in Canada, where the music community is actively engaged in the regulatory process around the Online Streaming Act, which extends broadcasters’ requirements to invest in Canada’s music sector to digital platforms and is being met with mounting resistance from the tech sector. “By bypassing local regulations and enforcing unfavourable terms on rights holders, platforms create a significant power imbalance,” says Gord Dimitrieff, Chair of Government Relations at the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA). “It stifles competition, reduces cultural diversity, and limits consumer choice.” Andrew Cash, President and CEO of CIMA adds that TikTok’s decision “should act as a wake-up call to Canadian policy makers and politicians engaged in regulating the tech sector.”

TikTok was the fastest-growing social media platform in Latin America in 2023. “From a Brazilian perspective, TikTok’s decision not to renew the agreement with Merlin could weaken the representation of independent music, which plays a crucial role in promoting cultural and regional diversity,” says Felippe Llerena, President of the Associação Brasileira da Música Independente (ABMI). “Without a collective agreement, small labels may have more difficulty negotiating individually, negatively impacting their visibility and participation on a platform as relevant as TikTok.” The Brazilian organizationclaims that this move not only compromises the diversity of content available on the platform, but also does not make sense from a commercial and strategic point of view. Brazil ranks third in TikTok users by country, with 105.3 million, followed by Mexico, with 77.5 million users, but concerns are also raised in other markets of the region. “It is extremely detrimental for the independent sector in Latin America that TikTok is applying this pressure to bypass Merlin. The very purpose of Merlin is to ensure fairer and more equitable representation for all, especially in regions like ours, and we stand by it. The most affected will be the smaller players, who will have few options, and our biggest fear is that they will end up facing the worst conditions.” adds Francisca Sandoval, President of Asociación Gremial Industria Musical Independiente de Chile (IMICHILE). 

Following value gap concerns raised in April, the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) hasopposed TikTok’s attempt to boycott Merlin. The European organization highlights the importance of collective deals for diversity and consumer choice, and notes that it is vital that independents and digital services work together and explore ways to grow the value of the moment economy as a key part of the music ecosystem, as proposed in IMPALA’s ten-step plan to make the most of streaming. “We believe giving labels the option to work under a collective deal is the best way for TikTok to achieve these aims and work with artists and genres from across Europe,” says Dario Drastata, IMPALA Chair and Chair of RUNDA Adria. “We respect freedom of choice in entrepreneurship. The growth of the independent sector across all platforms is fundamental to provide fans and consumers with choice and diversity, exactly what TikTok stands for. The easiest way to achieve that is through Merlin.” says Helen Smith, IMPALA’s Executive Chair. She adds: “We invite TikTok to see the value of a renewed collective deal through Merlin and collaborate on growing this important part of the ecosystem. We hope that efficiency and choice for TikTok users, as well as access for artists and labels whatever their country or genre or level of success, and of course joint and standardised efforts on fraud, will prevail and look forward to growing this vital part of the ecosystem.”France,Belgium,Germany, and other European countries have also come forward in support of Merlin.

TikTok is crucial to the music industry, and music is crucial to TikTok. An experiment conducted by TikTok in Australia in 2023 to analyze how music is accessed and used on the platform showed that limiting the licensed music users can experience caused the number of users and the time they spend on the app to decline. “We are highly alarmed at the news of TikTok's decision to walk away from the negotiating table with Merlin before any licensing renewal discussions could even begin. As if that wasn't onerous enough, TikTok have stated their intention to seek direct deals, and provided a very, very short runway for labels to sign an NDA. This would be hilarious, if it wasn’t so disrespectful and further demonstrates that TikTok's behaviour completely undermines their previously stated support of worldwide independent rights holders. IMNZ, as representative and advocate for New Zealand artists and labels, joins with our global compatriots in the hope that TikTok makes the right decision - and finds its way back to the licensing table with Merlin, and smartly”, says Dylan Pellett, General Manager at Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ).

WIN is committed to ensuring that all businesses in the music sector are best equipped to maximize the value of their rights, regardless of their size and origin, and Merlin is a key partner in this. The global independent music community remains steadfast in its support for collective licensing negotiations and calls on TikTok to return to the table and work on solutions that benefit all parties involved.