Music videos have been removed from YouTube in the US due to copyright disputes

Hundreds of popular music videos have been removed from YouTube in the US due to 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 recognized by the US Copyright Office that “collects royalties and helps protect the copyrights on behalf of thousands of songwriters and publishers in the United States.”

The suspension affected several artists including Nirvana, Adele, Green Day, Mariah Carey, Kendrick Lamar and REM, to name a few. However, only selected songs have been blocked and not the musicians' entire output on YouTube, meaning some music videos work fine, while others display the message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

According to a report by diversityThe dispute stems from YouTube's failure to reach a new agreement with SESAC. The two companies' current contract is believed to have expired sometime last week, according to a YouTube account manager on Best Efforts. “For this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the US that is known to be associated with SESAC – in accordance with copyright law.”

@claybitkid we hear you. Our music licensing agreement with SESAC has expired without agreement on renewal terms, despite our best efforts. For this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the US that is known to be associated with SESAC – in accordance with copyright law

– TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 28, 2024

A YouTube representative said in a statement diversity that the platform is in active negotiations with SESAC for a new agreement: “We have been negotiating in good faith with SESAC to extend our existing contract. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach a fair agreement before the deadline. We take copyright very seriously and therefore the content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the United States. We are in active discussions with SESAC and hope to reach a new agreement as soon as possible.”

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

A similar incident occurred between TikTok and Universal Music Group earlier this year. In January, UMG published an open letter announcing its intention to withdraw music from TikTok by artists signed to the publisher and label due to the collapse of negotiations over a contract extension, first signed in 2021. Finally, a new agreement was signed between the two parties in May, ending the four-month ban of UMG artists on the platform.