We’re almost one week away from the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, and things are heating up. Whether you’re dissecting fan theories about the album or planning a Tortured Poets Department-themed party, there are so many ways to get ready for the album’s release. And it seems like TikTok is also preparing for Swift’s latest album, as her songs have returned to the app.
In February 2024, a plethora of songs from Universal Music Group were removed from the app. Universal Music and TikTok could not agree on a new licensing deal, so music from artists like Swift was stripped from the platform. It’s been 10 weeks since creators haven’t been able to post videos featuring songs from popular artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and Rihanna, to name a few.
Almost like magic, though, Swift’s songs were returned to the platform on April 11 — just eight days before the release of The Tortured Poets Department.
Of course, Swifties rejoiced when they realized Swift’s discography was back on TikTok. Pop culture creator Jessica Golich announced this news in a TikTok video on April 11, pointing out that fans will be able to create content with “the whole new album” when it’s released.
“I’m assuming they finally came to an agreement!!!” one user commented, while another wrote, “TikTok realized ‘Taylor Swift is the music industry.’” Your TikTok FYP will likely be spammed with other fans and creators announcing the news today, so keep an eye out for that!
Although it’s super exciting that Blondie’s music is back on TikTok, how exactly did this happen?
According to Variety, Swift could have come to an agreement with TikTok as she owns the masters of her songs. Swift could also be collaborating with TikTok to promote The Tortured Poets Department, which would give her album an extra push since the music of many other artists isn’t available to use on TikTok.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Swift has teamed up with TikTok to promote the release of a new project. In 2022, Swift used the app to exclusively announce news and track titles about her Grammy-Award-winning album Midnights as part of her Midnights Mayhem series.
Ahead of Midnights, Swift broke the internet when she announced that Lana Del Rey would be featured on “Snow On The Beach.” Since there is over a week until TTPD’s release, this could mean that Swift has plans to reveal more details about the album on TikTok. There’s truly never been a better time to be a Swift-related content creator.
Whether Swift and TikTok came to their own agreement is unknown at the moment. What is for sure, though, is that Swifties will be going crazy using new sounds from The Tortured Poets Department to make content after April 19.