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Record Labels Reap Billion-Dollar Bonanza From Tunes on Social Media

Warner Music signs accord with TikTok, the newest in a series of pacts with social platforms

Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
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After years of railing against technology giants for exploiting music to attract customers, record companies have embraced social media as their new cash machine.

In the latest example, Warner Music Group Corp. has signed a deal with TikTok that will boost its fees for song rights and increase collaboration with the popular social-media app. The contract covers recordings from the company’s labels, as well as songs from its publishing division.