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Millions of songs from artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Ariana Grande could disappear from TikTok in the next 24 hours.

That's because talks between TikTok and Universal Music Group - one of the biggest music companies in the world - have fallen through.

Universal Music Group (UMG) accused TikTok of trying to "bully" and "intimidate" them into accepting a deal that is a "fraction" of the rate other social media sites pay for access to its huge music catalogue.

TikTok said Universal was presenting a "false narrative and rhetoric".

If the two companies can't reach an agreement, then UMG said it would remove all of its songs from TikTok when the current deal ends on Wednesday 31 January.

Why is this a big deal?

UMG controls around a third of the world's music, and owns the rights to some of the biggest songs and most popular artists, including: Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Adele, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, SZA, BTS, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, Camilla Cabello, the Weeknd, The Beatles and many more.

Music companies earn money when their songs are played, including on streaming and social media platforms - these payments are called 'royalties'.

If UMG does decide to pull all of its music from TikTok, this would be the first time that Universal has removed its songs from a technology company's platform.

Universal shared an "open letter to the artist and songwriter community" online called: "Why we must call Time Out on TikTok".

It said: "TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music."

Universal also said that along with pushing for "appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters" it was also concerned about "protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok's users". TikTok recently started trialling an AI song maker.

UMG also said that TikTok tried to "intimidate" them "by selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists" while keeping bigger stars on the platform.

"TikTok's tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and short-changes artists and songwriters as well as their fans," UMG wrote.

In response, TikTok - which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance - said: "It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

"Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent," it added.

"TikTok has been able to reach 'artist-first' agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal's self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans." it said.