YouTube will now allow creators to remix and incorporate music videos straight into their Shorts. This action takes place in the midst of a dispute over licensing rights between TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG), where TikTok recently lost access to songs by well-known artists.
The war for music licensing on TikTok
Due to disputes with UMG, TikTok experienced a setback earlier this month when it was unable to access songs by artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, and Taylor Swift.
When UMG terminated their licensing agreement with TikTok and accused them of unfair negotiations, a dispute broke out. As a result, users of TikTok were unable to access UMG’s music library, which caused existing videos to become silent.
Music video remixing
YouTube has launched a feature for Shorts that allows users to remix music videos in response to TikTok’s licensing issues. With this update, creators can now directly include music videos into their Shorts featuring artists like Maggie Rogers and Beyoncé. Notably, this action seems to directly address TikTok’s present UMG issues.
Compared to TikTok, YouTube’s new remixing feature has a number of advantages. First off, it offers creators a feature that isn’t available on TikTok right now: the ability to easily incorporate music videos into their Shorts. Additionally, TikTok struggles with licensing, but YouTube users have access to UMG’s music library.
YouTube’s unique offering
Sarah Ali, a senior director of product management at YouTube, highlighted the platform’s unique capabilities in a blog post.
“On YouTube, you can watch the music video on repeat, check out other Shorts that have been created from the same song by fellow fans, and discover deep catalog cuts from your favorite artists and relive those moments by remixing them as your own,” Ali wrote.