Key Takeaways
- Licensing issues with SESAC caused popular songs to disappear from YouTube and YouTube Music, affecting US users.
- YouTube and SESAC have now renewed their deal, bringing back songs from renowned artists like Bob Dylan.
- Users can expect blocked content to be restored over the next couple of days.
YouTube and YouTube Music have always stood out over other music streaming services for their expansive music catalog. But, at the beginning of this week, many YouTube users in the US found many of their favorite songs by artists like Bob Dylan and Adele missing. This was due to a licensing issue with SESAC, as the agreement between the two parties expired, and they could not agree on the renewal terms. Thankfully, the issue was short-lived, as YouTube has renewed its licensing deal with SESAC, paving the way for all your favorite songs to return to the platform.
Over the weekend, many US YouTube users complained about getting a “Video unavailable” error while trying to play songs by several big-name artists. YouTube confirmed this was due to its licensing deal with SESAC, also known as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, expiring. It represents over “15,000+ affiliated songwriters, composers, and music publishers” and holds licensing rights to over 1.5 million songs from renowned artists like Nirvana, Kendrick Lamar, and Bob Dylan.
Despite YouTube’s best efforts, it could not renew its existing deal with SESAC. This forced the platform to remove all content licensed by SESAC to avoid any copyright issues. Interestingly, it did so a week before the contract expiry date of October 1, 2024.
Thankfully, YouTube and SESAC have resolved their licensing issues and agreed on a renewal deal. YouTube says it will restore all blocked content on its platform over the next couple of days.
Your favorite artists are back on YouTube
In a statement to The Verge, SESAC performing rights president and COO Scott Jungmichel confirmed the renewed licensing deal: “We have reached an agreement with YouTube to equitably compensate SESAC’s songwriters and publishers for the use of their music. We appreciate the support and patience of our affiliates, as well as the artists who perform those songs. During our negotiations with YouTube, our affiliates’ works were unilaterally removed by YouTube ahead of the contract end date of October 1, 2024. YouTube has begun the process of reinstating videos featuring these songs.”
If you were looking to jump ship to Spotify or Apple Music due to your favorite artist missing from YouTube, you might want to reconsider your decision now.
