JT of the City Girls has decided not to let UMG’s decision to pull their music from TikTok deter her from creating a viral hit on the popular social media platform.
The rapper took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday (April 17) to share her plan of attack to do so. There, she suggested that her fans put a “distorted” sound on the music, so that it wouldn’t be picked up by the platform’s algorithms and, thus, muted.
“Remember I’m with UMG so once song is out Tik Tok will be muted so try to get a distorted sound going I have one on my Tik Tok use it if you want or make your own IDC just spread the sound,” she wrote, before encouraging fans to “pre-save” the track.
Check out both posts below.
Remember I’m with UMG so once song is out Tik Tok will be muted so try to get a distorted sound going I have one on my Tik Tok use it if you want or make your own IDC just spread the sound📢🔊🔊🔊
— JT ☆ (@ThegirlJT) April 17, 2024
PRE-SAVE NOW! OKAY⁉️https://t.co/a3xVZZlM0Tpic.twitter.com/MfsAYfc1Ye
— JT ☆ (@ThegirlJT) April 16, 2024
Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and more have seen their music removed from TikTok over the social media network’s dispute with Universal Music Group.
The two companies have failed to agree on a new deal relating to artist compensation and artificial intelligence, which means the music giant can no longer license music to the app.
The deal expired at midnight on January 31 and terms for a new contract have not yet been defined, with UMG saying they will cease to provide music to TikTok after this deadline.
Universal Music Group is one of the biggest record companies in the world with several major labels under its umbrella including Interscope, Republic, and Def Jam.
As a result, the dispute will affect numerous A-list artists including Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, SZA, The Weeknd, and Post Malone.
UMG penned a furious open letter aimed at TikTok which they shared online on January 30.
Muni Long Takes Aim At Universal Music Group Over TikTok Catalog Removal
The conglomerate alleged that the social media platform accounts for “only about 1% of our total revenue”, which they said was evidence of “how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content”.
UMG also accused TikTok of trying to “intimidate” them by “selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists” but keeping songs from better-known musicians.
The letter also said: “TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans.”
As of February 1, all videos containing music by UMG artists have been muted.