Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL YouTube has restricted access to songs by renowned artists such as Adele, Bob Dylan, and Green Day in the U.S. This move is a result of an ongoing legal dispute with the performing rights organization, SESAC.
What Happened: Over the weekend, users’ attempts to play songs by these artists were met with a message stating the content was unavailable in the U.S. due to copyright issues with SESAC.
YouTube’s consumer help channel on X, formerly Twitter, replied to one user complaining about the issue saying, “We hear you. our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts.”
Adding, “For this reason, we have blocked content on YouTube in the U.S. known to be associated with SESAC – as in line with copyright law.”
When a user complained that they had paid for YouTube Premium but now could not listen to their songs, the platform said, “We understand this is a difficult situation and our teams continue to work on reaching a renewal agreement.”
A representative from YouTube told Variety, “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 representative also mentioned that they are in active discussions with SESAC to reach a new deal as soon as possible.
However, a source close to the situation suggested that YouTube’s move could be a negotiating tactic, as the previous deal does not expire until next week, the report noted.
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Why It Matters: Performing rights organizations like SESAC, ASCAP, and BMI collect royalties and protect copyrights on behalf of songwriters and music publishers.
They can block certain public performances of music, including streaming on platforms like YouTube.
The situation between YouTube and SESAC follows a similar dispute between Universal Music Group and ByteDance-owned TikTok earlier this year.
After their contract expired in January and negotiations for an extension fell through, Universal started pulling numerous songs from TikTok's catalog. This move affected tracks by major artists like Harry Styles and Coldplay.
Later in May 2024, the two companies signed a new multi-dimensional licensing agreement.
This dispute also comes on the heels of other recent controversies involving YouTube, such as the implementation of the “Pause ads” feature, the restriction of certain fitness videos for teens, and the shutdown of the Tenet Media channel.
Photo by Sky Motion on Shutterstock
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