TikTok's music meltdown

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

TikTok Music wants to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music — but just struck a major chord with the music industry.

UMG just announced it’s pulling its star-studded catalog off the platform. Let’s investigate…

In today’s tech rundown:

• UMG pulls songs from TikTok over royalty dispute

• Tech leaders under fire over child safety regulations

• 8 new products

• Delaware judge axes Musk’s Tesla bonus

• Palworld climbs gaming ranks

• FTX fully repaying customers, creditors

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

TIKTOK

🎶 UMG pulls songs from TikTok over royalty dispute

The Rundown: Universal Music Group just announced it will pull all its music from TikTok starting Feb. 1st — after failing to reach an agreement with ByteDance over fair royalties.

The details:

• UMG claims TikTok pays a tiny fraction of royalties compared to other major platforms generating less revenue, currently accounting for only 1% of the company’s revenue.

• Tensions also rose over payments for AI-generated recordings and TikTok's failure to promptly remove copyright-violating content.

• UMG represents major artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Drake, and Justin Bieber.

• The move comes as TikTok invests heavily in TikTok Music, which the company hopes to position as a competitor to Spotify and Apple Music.

Why it matters: UMG’s departure underscores serious growing pains for TikTok’s music aspirations — and the company’s ability to strike fair deals with labels going forward will likely make or break it. Success without star power for music platforms is hard to come by.

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BIG TECH REGULATION

🏛️ Tech leaders under fire over child safety regulations

The Rundown: Congress just held a major hearing with CEOs from several major tech platforms including Meta, Twitter (X), TikTok, Snap, and Discord — on the topic of protecting children online and fighting child exploitation.

The details:

• The CEOs in attendance were X’s Linda Yaccarino, TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Discord’s Jason Citron.

• The hearing focused on failures to curb abuse and predatory behavior targeting kids on these platforms.

• Proposed legislation discussed includes the controversial Kids Online Safety Act, which garnered mixed endorsements from the CEOs.

• Notably, Yaccarino came out in support of KOSA despite critics arguing the bill would chill free speech, seemingly in opposition to Elon Musk and X’s previous sentiment.

Why it matters: In what was a contentious day for the tech giants, CEOs were forced to reckon with the darker sides of their platforms. But it's an issue that's far from solved — even if the proposed regulation comes to fruition.

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SNIPPETS

Palworld has achieved 12 million sales on Steam and 7 million players on Xbox and Game Pass, becoming the biggest third-party launch in Game Pass history.

US lawmakers have introduced a bill to combat non-consensual AI-generated explicit content in response to the increasing spread of Taylor Swift deepfakes.

FTX expects to fully repay customers and creditors who suffered losses from its 2022 collapse.

Lamborghini is set to introduce hybrid versions of the Hurácan and Urus in 2024 as part of its strategy to reduce fleet emissions.

The European Space Agency is set to test a metal 3D printer on the ISS, a development that could contribute to building structures on the Moon.

A Delaware judge voided Elon Musk's $56 billion Tesla compensation plan over conflicts of interest and flawed process.

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THAT’S A WRAP

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