Until YouTube and performing rights organization SESAC reach an agreement on renewal terms of their expiring contract, consumers might find many of their favorite songs unplayable on the video streaming service.
Some (but not all) songs by artists including Adele, Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Kendrick Lamar, Nirvana and R.E.M. were among those unavailable on YouTube over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
At press time Sunday night (Sept. 29), Billboard can confirm hits like Adele’s “Hello” and “Someone Like You,” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” as just a few examples of music videos that remain unplayable on YouTube while its licensing deal with SESAC remains unsettled. When the page loads, an error message appears in place of a music video preview. The message reads, “Video unavailable. This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”
In a statement sent to Billboard, a YouTube spokesperson wrote, “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.”
Billboard reached out to SESAC but did not receive a response on Sunday.
SESAC, which licenses the public performance of more than 1.5 million songs, collects royalties and helps protect copyrights on behalf of thousands of songwriters and publishers in the U.S.
As THR points out, YouTube customer service has been addressing users’ frustrations in responses on X (formerly Twitter). On the TeamYouTube account, replies to complaints have read, “Our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts. For this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the US known to be associated with SESAC – as in line with copyright law … We understand this is a difficult situation and our teams continue to work on reaching a renewal agreement.”
