Hundreds of iconic music videos pulled from YouTube in the US over copyright dispute

30 September, 2024

Hundreds of popular music videos have been removed from YouTube in the United States over an ongoing copyright dispute.

Over the weekend, hundreds – even thousands – of music videos were blocked across North America due to a copyright dispute between YouTube and licensing company SESAC. SESAC is a licensing company recognised by the US Copyright Office that “collects royalties and helps protect copyrights on behalf of thousands of songwriters and publishers in the US”.

The block affected several artists, including Nirvana, Adele, Green Day, Mariah Carey, Kendrick Lamar and R.E.M to name a few. However, only select songs were blocked, and not all of the musicians’ output on YouTube, meaning some music videos are working fine, while others display the message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

According to a report from Variety, the dispute stems from YouTube being unable to reach a new deal with SESAC. The two companies’ current deal is believed to have expired sometime last week week, according to a YouTube account handler on X, who wrote in response to fan complaints: “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.”

A representative for YouTube said in a statement to Variety that the platform is in active negotiations with SESAC for a new agreement: “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.”

A complete list of the artists and music videos affected by the YouTube-SESAC dispute has yet to be shared.

A similar instance took place earlier this year between TikTok and Universal Music Group. In January, UMG published an open letter announcing its intention to withdraw music from artists signed to the publisher and label from TikTok due to failed negotiations to renew their contract, which was first signed in 2021. A new agreement between the two parties was finally signed in May, ending the four-month shutout of UMG artists on the platform.

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