TikTok without all that music is... weird
UMG took their music off the app, and users are turning to some, let's say creative solutions to fill the hole

Someone who is good at the economy please help TikTok recover from UMG’s campaign to wipe its artists’ music from the platform. Gen Z is dying without their daily dose of Taylor Swift.
Even if you haven’t been keeping up with the conflict between TikTok and Universal Music Group—the conglomerate that represents major artists like Swift, Bad Bunny, Drake, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, and more—you still may have noticed that your For You Page is a whole lot quieter (or at least more out of tune) than normal. Earlier this week, the label made good on threats to remove all of their music from the app, citing concerns over “appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.”
TikTok, on the other hand, is claiming that UMG isn’t really protecting anything but their own books. In a statement sent to The A.V. Club on Wednesday, a representative from the app wrote:
It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.