Is TikTok Going Down In Flames? Forgive Me If I Struggle to Care

Trump wants to keep TikTok alive in the United States — and just authorized a 75-day lifeline to allow a deal to happen. Many in the music industry, however, are struggling to share his concerns.

As TikTok battles for its life in the US, the music industry’s silence has been deafening.

One problem seems to be that despite TikTok’s searing success — or perhaps because of it — this is a company with a special talent for pissing off vast swaths of the music industry. In a relatively short period of time, TikTok has ticked off an impressive number of label and publisher executives, all of whom have to play ball with TikTok but would prefer not to.

The music industry struggles with solidarity, but when it comes to TikTok, there seems to be more agreement than usual on this one.  Of course, nobody’s saying it out loud, but perhaps it would be nice to witness TikTok going down in a ball of flames.

Chatting with Digital Music News over the weekend, one major label executive felt compelled to offer TikTok executives advice — regarding a door that might hit them in the posterior region as exit America. There are other platforms that can fill the void, and there’s more to life than chasing the latest TikTok blowup (which itself has become an increasingly inexact science).

Perhaps you can guess the mega-label, based on a protracted licensing stand-off that left some lingering bad blood. But the anger is more palpable in the indie camp, thanks to some less-than-friendly moves by TikTok that effectively marginalized indie label collective bargaining power.

After neutering Merlin and forcing indie to sign their non-negotiable contracts (and like it), it’s not puzzling why indie labels aren’t rushing to the short-form video platform’s defense.

TikTok’s stance seems decidedly different, with ‘leverage’ the operative word. After all, TikTok is one of the most powerful platforms in music, and a kingmaker for songs old and new. Even Taylor Swift crossed the UMG picket line — and the platform has also swayed none other than Donald J. Trump.

That’s some serious pull. So isn’t this just the game that’s played at the negotiating table – and business as usual?

Perhaps. But according to the industry people we’ve conversed with, that ‘just business’ mentality doesn’t quite erase the feeling of, well, getting stepped on. Which might explain why there’s a deafening level of silence from nearly every quarter of the music industry as TikTok struggles for its US-based life.

But it’s not just the music industry abandoning TikTok. Other powerful sectors are also letting TikTok flap in the wind.

Despite the 75-day reprieve, neither the Apple App Store nor the Google Play Store have restored TikTok — at least not yet. TikTok is one of the most heavily-demanded apps, so why keep blocking it?

One answer is that both mega-companies are likely playing it safe after conducting a routine risk analysis. After all, why reinstate TikTok when members of Congress like Tom Cotton are threatening massive fines? Better to simply keep things off the deck until things calm down, especially in a tech-hostile legislative climate.

Sprinkle a dose of indifference into the mix, and neither Apple nor Google aren’t fighting for TikTok or offering any assistance. And that’s too bad for TikTok, given that disappearing from the App Store or Play Store is a big blow.

Right now, TikTok’s app is perfectly usable, but getting removed from both platforms means updates are no longer possible. Beyond that, those that delete the app or upgrade devices will be unable to jump back in. There’s also the ‘app rot’ problem, and TikTok’s ‘rot clock’ is now, well, ticking. The longer this goes on, the buggier TikTok becomes, until the app itself is unusable.

Other powerful platforms, on the other hand, have enormous amounts to gain, including Zuck’s Instagram, which is now reportedly paying top TikTok producers to migrate to his safer space while priming its own short-form video alternatives. Others, including X, are also hoping to fill a giant void.

And how will TikTok get ‘saved,’ exactly?

So far, Trump’s top-level thoughts are vague. Would the United States actually own 50% of a TikTok joint venture, as Trump has suggested? That’s not your typical business arrangement, nor is it a preferable outcome for ByteDance (or the Chinese government). And if ByteDance couldn’t forge a deal with a private company ahead of the deadline, would they be willing to close a deal with America, Inc. within the next 75 days?

Feels like a stretch — though artists are best advised to shift their TikTok eggs into other baskets.

More as this develops.