YouTube Blocks Music by Adele, Kendrick Lamar, and Nirvana Amid Legal Dispute with SESAC

 

In a sudden move, YouTube has blocked songs by several top artists, including Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, and Nirvana, leaving fans frustrated over the unavailability of their favorite tracks. The restriction stems from an ongoing legal dispute between YouTube and SESAC, a prominent performance-rights organization in the United States.

SESAC, short for the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, is one of the oldest performance-rights organizations in the US, overseeing the licensing of public performances for over 1.5 million songs. Representing more than 30,000 songwriters and a catalogue of over 1 million compositions, SESAC plays a key role in protecting artists’ intellectual property rights.

On Saturday, YouTube users encountered a message reading, “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country,” when attempting to play blocked videos. This mass blackout of popular songs triggered a wave of frustration across social media, with users demanding an explanation.

In response, a YouTube representative 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. As a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are actively working on resolving the issue.”

While the music community anxiously awaits a resolution, fans can follow updates on this evolving story on my Twitter/X handle: @dark_web24.