Universal Music Group Pulls Music From TikTok After Talks Fail

Universal Music Group NV, the world’s biggest record label that counts Taylor Swift and Drake among its artists, has begun pulling music from the social-media platform TikTok after extensive contract negotiations between the two companies failed.

The label’s decision to yank songs from the ByteDance Ltd.-owned short-form video app follows months of fruitless negotiations. Talks broke down during one of the busiest weeks on the music industry’s calendar, when all the labels and distribution companies descend on Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards.

Going forward, videos featuring UMG-owned songs will be muted, and users will have the option ...