Two of the biggest stars returning to the platform are Drake and The Weeknd, who found themselves in the middle of a row over artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023.
A song that used the tech to clone their voices went viral on TikTok, picking up 15 million views before it was removed.
At the time, Universal Music Group said it violated copyright law.
The deal that will see the two acts return will also build in what the companies are calling “industry-leading protections” around AI on TikTok.
TikTok and Universal said in a statement that they would work together to “protect human artistry” in the face of the tech.
“TikTok is also committed to working with [Universal] to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution,” they said.
Sir Lucian said the deal meant “fake artist” AI songs could be removed.
“TikTok has now addressed the primary concern we expressed in our open letter that AI generated content would massively dilute the royalty pool for human artists,” he said.
The platform had also made commitments over the training of AI on music without consent, he said, and he thanked musicians for supporting Universal’s action.
“We will work together to make sure that AI tools are developed responsibly to enable a new era of musical creativity and fan engagement while protecting human creativity,” said TikTok head of music business development Ole Obermann.
Previously, artists including Eilish and Nicki Minaj have called on tech firms to agree to not develop tools that can generate music using AI.
It remains to be seen whether the commitments the two firms have made will fully address those concerns.
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