YouTube pulls songs from Adele, Nirvana, and others due to SESAC dispute

Some of the most viewed music on YouTube and YouTube Music disappeared on Saturday, replaced by a short message that read:

video not available

This video contains content from SESAC. Not available in your country.

That’s probably not what people were expecting when they tried to stream Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”” There are also songs from a variety of artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears, Green Day, Kanye West, and Burna Boy.

This leaves two questions. What is SESAC and when will the music come back?

SESAC The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers has been around since 1930 and, according to its website, “…currently produces more than 1.5 million songs on behalf of more than 15,000 affiliated songwriters, composers and artists. ” and music publishers. ”

Although smaller than similar organizations such as BMI and ASCAP, SESAC lists many well-known artists in its portfolio. In 2017, obtained by private equity firm Blackstone.

The question of when SESAC’s ban on music from YouTube and YouTube Music will end, and even what kind of music has been removed, is a bit difficult to answer.

SESAC Has a searchable database of repertoireHowever, it appears that not all songs listed there were removed. If you’d like to read the complete list, a 44,267-page PDF is also available on this site. But not all songs were equally influenced. meanwhile one list As of this writing, Kanye West’s “Power” is blocked, so music video version Streaming continues smoothly.

The licensing organization has not officially commented, but YouTube responded to inquiries from. The Vergespokeswoman Mariana de Felice wrote:

The Company has been negotiating in good faith with SESAC to renew its existing agreement. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach a fair agreement before the deadline expired. Because we take copyright very seriously, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the United States. We are in active discussions with SESAC and look forward to reaching a new agreement as soon as possible.

According to anonymous sources cited by varietythis could be a negotiation tactic by YouTube, as “the previous contract doesn’t actually expire until next week.”