Due to a licensing dispute with SESAC, some of the most popular songs on YouTube and YouTube Music have been removed from both platforms in the US. The songs pulled from the streaming platforms include songs with millions of views by Adele, Nirvana, Green Day, Kanye West, Britney Spears, and many other popular artists.
Reportedly, YouTube is in "active conversations with SESAC and is hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible." Multiple reports confirm that many popular songs now show an exclamation mark suggesting that the songs can be played.
When playing the video, a fullscreen error message reads: "Song unavailable – This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country." Although the error doesn"t appear in the YouTube search results, it shows up in the video player.
SESAC stands for Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, which was founded in 1930 and later acquired by Blackstone in 2017. According to its official website, "SESAC is a Performing Rights Organization recognized by the U.S. Copyright Office, and if your customers can hear music in your business, then you likely need to secure a music performance license."
The website also mentions that over 1.5 million songs from top artists are licensed by SESAC. Though it is smaller than organizations like BMI and ASCAP, SESAC has many popular artists in its portfolio. Adele"s earlier albums still appear but none of the songs are playable. Newer songs are still available.
On social media platform X, YouTube says "our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts. for this reason, we need to block certain music content on YouTube in the US."
Regarding this dispute, a YouTube spokesperson issued the below statement:
We have held good faith negotiations with SESAC to renew our existing deal. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before its expiration. We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.
Let us know in the comments below what songs, albums and artists are missing for you on YouTube and YouTube Music in the US.