Taylor Swift performs onstage during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Allianz Parque on Nov. 24, 2023 in Sao Paulo.
Buda Mendes/tas23/Getty Images
Taylor Swift fans are finding a creative workaround after the pop star’s music was pulled from TikTok following a licensing disagreement between the social media platform and her record label.
Swift’s music was taken down, along with songs from other big-time musicians including Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, Rihanna and Ariana Grande, by Universal Music Group (UMG) after it did not reach a deal with the social media company to renew its licensing agreement.
Songs disappeared from TikTok by Feb. 1. Swifties posted videos on the platform reacting in shock or lamenting the absence of her music. Some joked Swift would have to redo her albums for a third time, as she’s already re-recording her catalog with the tag “Taylor’s Version” to gain ownership of her early songs, with one proposing calling a third recording “TikTok Version.”
@euanblackman Should just do a covers album now #universalmusic #universalmusicgroup #taylorswift #tiktok #swifttok ♬ original sound – Euan Blackman
But others have taken to posting covers of Swift songs as a way of getting around her music being pulled. Some serious musicians took the opportunity to amplify their talents by posting their versions of Swift’s music and encouraging other social media users to utilize them in their videos.
Singer Euan Blackman posted a cover of the 2020 song “betty” with the text “So all of Taylor Swift’s music is getting removed from TikTok, but it’s fine because you can use this sound instead.”
Another singer, Talia Sporkin, posted her version of the 2023 track “Sl*t!” with the tagline “UMG removed your sound? Use this one instead,” and invited requests for Swift songs to cover via the comment section.
@taliasporkin14 comment more sounds you want me to cover!! #taylorswift #umg #coversong #singersongwriter #swiftie #1989taylorsversion ♬ original sound – Talia Sporkin
Another user posted a video dancing to a Swift song in a grocery store. While some independent artists on TikTok didn’t cover Swift’s songs, but used the social media attention and the absence of UMG’s big names to promote their own original work.
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Other influencers got on the trend by posting comical videos of their covers, including influencer Chris Olsen, who belted out Swift’s 2008 song “You Belong With Me” while playing air guitar with a vacuum cleaner.
