Taylor Swift: Artist's music returns to TikTok after controversy

Taylor Swift's songs have returned to TikTok after a dispute prompted her brand to stop licensing her content to the app.

The return of her music on Thursday comes ahead of the release of her new album, Tortured Poets Oath.

Universal Music pulled the songs of its artists, including Rihanna and Ariana Grande, in January due to a licensing dispute.

Many artists have complained about TikTok's insufficient revenue.

While many of her songs — including You Belong With Me and Cruel Summer — are once again available for users to add to their videos, music from other Universal artists has not yet been reinserted.

This may be because Swift, unlike other artists, owns the copyright to her music under the terms of her 2018 deal with Universal. Some reports have speculated that Swift has reached a separate deal with TikTok.

“Swifties” – Taylor Swift's fans – took to the platform to share their happiness at the return of her music.

“OMG this made me live the whole year,” wrote verified user Jessica Julich, adding that users “will have the whole new album to play.”

Devendra Rai recorded a video lip syncing to Cruel Summer, captioning it: “Welcome back Taylor!!!”

In an open letter published on January 30, Universal claimed that “TikTok is ultimately trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for music.”

Universal said it is also concerned about getting fair compensation to artists for AI-generated songs that are made to look like the real thing, like the ones made to sound like Drake and The Weeknd that went viral.

Swift announced her upcoming album while accepting her 13th Grammy Award earlier this year.

Tortured Poets Oath, released on April 19, is her eleventh studio album.

The BBC has contacted Universal and TikTok for comment.