Many popular music videos and tracks disappeared from YouTube and YouTube Music on Saturday, replaced by a message indicating that the content is unavailable due to a licensing issue with SESAC. Fans hoping to listen to songs like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” or tracks from artists including Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears, Green Day, Kanye West, and Burna Boy were left disappointed.
SESAC, or the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, has been operating since 1930 and licenses public performances of over 1.5 million songs for more than 15,000 affiliated songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Although it is smaller than organizations like BMI and ASCAP, SESAC represents a number of well-known artists and was acquired by Blackstone in 2017.
Determining when the SESAC music restrictions on YouTube and YouTube Music will be resolved is less clear. SESAC maintains a searchable database of its repertoire, but not all songs listed appear to be affected. For instance, while Kanye West’s “Power” is blocked, the music video version remains accessible at this time.
While SESAC has not issued a public statement regarding the situation, a YouTube spokesperson stated that negotiations with SESAC to renew their deal were ongoing. Unfortunately, they were unable to finalize an agreement before the previous contract expired, leading to the removal of SESAC-represented content from YouTube in the US. The platform is optimistic about reaching a new deal soon.