On February 1, 2024, the digital universe became eerily silent overnight, with millions of videos posted on TikTok with the soundtracks from songs by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Drake going entirely mute. This massive digital blackout was the first move in a record-setting legal battle over licensing between Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok. It was a sobering reminder for creators about how the sounds of their life in the digital universe could be taken away overnight by corporate executives.
