Taylor Swift made her songs available again on TikTok. What the move says about how she sees the social media platform. WSOC TV [Video]

Taylor Swift’s songs have returned to TikTok months after the announcement of a licensing dispute between the platform and Universal Music Group (UMG) and ahead of her highly anticipated album release. Her deal with TikTok, which went against UMG’s wishes, proves Swift doesn’t need labels. What she does need are fans.

Even though Swift has been part of UMG’s publishing division since 2018, she seems to have signed a separate deal with TikTok, presumably because she owns her masters, which means she has full creative control over her music. According to the Wall Street Journal, when Swift’s team presented the plans to promote The Tortured Poets Department on TikTok, it was to the surprise of label executives. UMG asked Swift’s team to reconsider, allegedly arguing it was important “for the industry” that her catalog stay off the platform.

A representative for Swift did not respond to a request for comment.

“It’s not so much that Taylor Swift needs TikTok as it is that Taylor Swift needs a particular …