If you’re wondering why millions of people have been unable to watch music videos by the likes of Adele and Nirvana, wonder no more.
Their current unavailability has come about as a result of them being blocked on YouTube in North America due to an ongoing copyright dispute.
The video-sharing platform, started in 2005, has failed to reach an agreement with licensing company SESAC to renew its contract, leaving many videos unplayable in the US.
At the moment, videos from the likes of Adele and Nirvana – as well as Kendrick Lamar, Green Day, and Bob Dylan, among others – are blocked by warnings that say US users can’t access them.
Pop fans trying to watch videos by their favourite artists are met with the following message: ‘This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.’
Fans hoping for the dispute to reach a swift conclusion have been given encouragement by a statement YouTube provided to Variety on Saturday.
It read: ‘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.
The statement continued: ‘We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US.
YouTube concluded its statement by saying, ‘We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.’
Hundreds of videos by dozens of artists have been affected, with popular 80s and 90s acts like R.E.M., Mariah Carey, and Alice in Chains also unavailable in the US right now.
On social media, fans have voiced their displeasure and have encouraged YouTube and SESAC to reach a solution in their ongoing negotiations.
@Digging4Bottles said: ‘Hey, Sesac, you all suck eggs. YouTube, fix this ASAP. This is a bad look for both companies… YouTube doesn’t need more and more negative publicity.’
Earlier this year, TikTok and Universal Music Group were locked in a similar dispute after the major label had all of its artists music removed from the smartphone video platform due to concerns about AI and royalties.
Back in January, it was revealed two companies had been unable to agree a new deal that would allow TikTok users to add music by Universal’s artists to their videos.
Speaking at the time, Universal accused TikTok of ‘bullying’ over its licence fees, arguing that the platform was trying to pay a much lower rate for its entire back catalogue than its rivals.
Eventually, the two companies came to an agreement in May 2024, with TikTok vowing to ‘deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists’.
It was agreed that the music would return to the app, with TikTok promising ‘new monetisation opportunities utilising TikTok’s growing e-commerce capabilities’, while pledging to ‘[support] UMG’s artists across genres and territories globally’.
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