Universal Music Group pulls songs from TikTok. Which Florida musicians are affected?

TikTok users will no-longer be hearing trending songs from some of the biggest stars in music on their "For You" pages.

Universal Music Group (UMG), which encompasses many recording labels, like Capitol Records, Republic Records, and Interscope Records, hasn't renewed its licensing agreement with TikTok.

Since the previous agreement between TikTok and UMG expired this week, songs from artists like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, Bad Bunny, SZA, Rihanna, Adele, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Demi Lovato, Blackpink, BTS and more are no longer available on the app.

Here's what that means for TikTok, Florida native and UMG artist Ariana Grande. And here are some smaller singer-songwriters with ties to Florida that you can follow instead.

What is Universal Music Group?

Universal Music Group is the world's leading music company, representing top artists like Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake and Olivia Rodrigo.

UMG encompasses Capitol Records, Republic Records, Interscope Records, Def Jam Recordings, Abbey Road Studios, Virgin Music Group, Motown, Dreamville and more labels.

Why was Taylor Swift removed from TikTok?

Universal Music Group and TikTok failed to reach an agreement on licensing music from UMG artists on the app after their previous agreement expired on Wednesday.

In an open letter, UMG bought forth various issues standing in the way of a licensing agreement, including fair compensation for artists and songwriter, protecting artists from the effects of artificial intelligence and TikTok user safety.

The label accused the social media platform of attempting to "bully us into accepting a deal" that offered to pay its artists and songwriters "at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay."

For those interested, you can read UMG's full letter on its website here.

How did TikTok respond to UMG?

TikTok responded to the open letter in a statement to USA TODAY, calling UMG's claims a "false narrative" created out of "greed."

"It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters," read the statement. "Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent."

"TikTok has been able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans."

Taylor Swift, Drake, SZA gone from TikTok: Here's the artist affected, including some top Florida musicians

Curious to know how much of TikTok will be affected? Well, you will no longer see official songs on TikTok from major artists, such as:

• Taylor Swift

• Olivia Rodrigo

• Drake

• Ice Spice

• Selena Gomez

• Bad Bunny

• SZA

• Rihanna

• Adele

• Billie Eilish

• Harry Styles

As for Floridians affected by UMG's move to remove their music, Ariana Grande tops the list. The Boca Raton native has six studio albums and recently announced her upcoming seventh album "Eternal Sunshine" in March.

However, she'll have to scratch TikTok off the list for ways to promote the new album and its upcoming singles. Her song "yes and?" was a trending song on the app throughout January.

TikToker reactions to UMG pulling music from TikTok

Let's just say they weren't too happy. Especially for those a part of "SwiftTok."

“Some of my most viewed videos are ones talking about Taylor Swift that have Taylor Swift songs in the background,” Savannah Delullo, a Wordle influencer and a Swiftie, said in a Thursday video. “So, them being muted is pretty sad, because we put in all of that work.”

Others also mourned several iconic videos on the platform that were not muted, particularly fan edits of Pedro Pascal and the "Rick Roll"-esque meme of Josh Hutcherson.

However, many users still found a way to make light of the situation by pumping out memes. From dancing to royalty-free tunes to pointing out "hated" songs that survived the purge, here are the best videos of "UMG-gate":

Need ideas for music? Here are some songs from Florida artists to use in your next TikTok

Since TikTok creators can no longer rely on using audio from some of the biggest names in music to boost their videos up in TikTok's "For You Page" algorithms, some trend forecasters are predicting that some smaller singer-songwriters will blow up on the app soon.

Here are some singer-songwriters on TikTok with ties to Florida:

• Lydia Luce - A Nashville-based artist who recently released the album "Florida Girl" in 2023, which is a in-depth examination of her life starting from her roots in Florida.

• Allegra Miles - Allegra Miles isn't from Florida and doesn't live here currently, but she did live in West Palm Beach briefly. Miles was a top nine finalist on "The Voice" in 2020. She re-appeared on "American Idol," where she made it to the top 14 in 2022. In 2023, she played her first music festivals here in Florida at Okeechobee Music Festival and Sunfest.

• Grant Schaffer - Schaffer is Florida native and an indie music guitarist that writes and sings his own songs. He's described his music as "upbeat, charismatic and melodic," and more than 881,000 people follow him on TikTok.

• Skylar Capri - Capri is a Destin native who moved to LA to pursue a music career in 2022, after having a couple of her videos go viral on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ariana Grande won't be able to promote new album on TikTok