Licensing Dispute Leads to Song Removal from YouTube Platforms
Background of the Issue
A significant number of songs have been removed from YouTube and YouTube Music in the United States due to a licensing disagreement with SESAC, a performance rights organization. YouTube has acknowledged the issue and is reportedly engaged in “active conversations with SESAC” with the hope of reaching a new agreement soon.
User Experience and Error Messages
In recent days, users of YouTube Music in the U.S. have encountered songs marked with an exclamation point, indicating that these tracks are currently unplayable. Attempting to play these songs results in a fullscreen error message stating: “Song unavailable – This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”
On the main YouTube platform, although users can initially open music videos, the error message soon appears in the player, preventing playback.
SESAC’s Role and Licensing Requirements
SESAC, a performance rights organization, represents the copyrighted musical works of songwriters and publishers. According to Copyright Law, a license from the copyright holder is necessary whenever music is performed, played, or broadcast to the public. SESAC provides a blanket license agreement, which is considered the most efficient and cost-effective way to obtain permission to publicly perform all the copyrighted music within its repertory.
The organization is affiliated with prominent artists like Adele, R.E.M., Jack Harlow, Bob Dylan, and Neil Diamond, collectively featuring over 1.5 million songs. Despite the licensing dispute, the artist pages on YouTube Music still display impacted albums. For example, Adele’s earlier albums are listed, although nearly all individual songs have been removed. Her newer music remains accessible.
YouTube’s Official Statement
YouTube has addressed the situation, stating that its “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.”
A YouTube spokesperson elaborated: “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.”
Commonality of Licensing Disputes
These types of content licensing disputes are more commonly associated with YouTube TV and cable providers. Users experiencing missing songs, albums, and artists are encouraged to share their observations.
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