TikTok pulls music by Taylor Swift and Lewis Capaldi from app

TikTok has removed music by stars including Taylor Swift and Lewis Capaldi following a row with their record label Universal Music Group (UMG).

As reported by ITV News, a deal between the social media platform and UMG expired on Wednesday, and a new agreement could not be reached.

This means existing videos with UMG music on them will be muted and new videos cannot be made using the tracks.

The Weeknd, another UMG artist, has had most of his music removed from his official TikTok page, while Billie Eilish only has one song remaining on hers.

On Tuesday, UMG published an open letter titled, "Why we must call Time Out on TikTok”, in which they accuse TikTok of attempting to "bully" them into a "bad deal that undervalues music".

It went on to claim: "TikTok’s success as one of the world’s largest social platforms has been built in large part on the music created by our artists and songwriters.

"Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music."

Responding to the letter, TikTok said it was "sad and disappointing" and accused UMG of putting "greed" above the interest of its artists.

UMG is one of the music industry's biggest record labels, owning the rights to music by artists including Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber, U2, Coldplay, Bob Dylan, and more.

Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok allows users to create and post short videos with music and effects.

Rival record label Warner Music announced a deal with TikTok in July.