Some music videos were removed from YouTube due to the Sesac standoff

It wasn't a great weekend for Americans who like to start their Sunday by streaming Adele's “Rolling In The Deep” video on YouTube. Which, yes, is probably a niche demographic…

However, playback of this video, as well as popular tracks from artists ranging from Bob Dylan, Nirvana and Green Day to Mariah Carey, Burna Boy and Kendrick Lamar, was blocked. Why? A look back that is just as nostalgic as the titles in question: a dispute between YouTube and a collecting society.

“Video not available. This video contains content from SESAC. “It is not available in your country,” read the message displayed to viewers trying to watch the blocked music videos. Sesac has not yet commented publicly, but YouTube responded to questions from reporters with a statement.

“We have been negotiating in good faith with Sesac to extend our existing contract. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before the deadline,” the spokesperson told Variety.

“We take copyright law very seriously and therefore the content represented by Sesac is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active discussions with Sesac and hope to conclude a new deal as soon as possible.”

The spice in Variety's report is a source's claim that the Sesac deal “actually doesn't expire until next week, suggesting that YouTube's move is a negotiating tactic.”

We've been here before in other parts of the world. In 2009, YouTube blocked music videos in the UK after failing to reach a new agreement with PRS for Music. This dispute was quickly resolved, although the same cannot be said of the German collecting society GEMA's famous dispute with YouTube: it lasted seven years until 2016.

Our suspicion is that the Sesac dispute can be resolved in a PRS for Music time frame rather than a GEMA time frame.

But it's a reminder that while YouTube has become a trusted partner for recording rights holders in recent years, age-old tensions and tough tactics with collecting societies have not yet disappeared into the history books.