Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, R.E.M., Burna Boy, Rush and many others are currently unplayable on YouTube in the U.S. due to a legal dispute

Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Many More Blocked by YouTube in Legal Dispute

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2024-09-29 00:30:02

Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, R.E.M., Burna Boy, Rush and many others are currently unplayable on YouTube in the U.S. due to a legal dispute between the platform and the performing rights organization SESAC.

Attempts to play many, but not all, songs by those artists on Saturday met with the following message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

A similar dispute between Universal Music Group and TikTok raged on for several months earlier this year before being resolved.

In a statement to Variety, a YouTube rep said: “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. We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.” Reps for SESAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Popular on Variety Related Stories VIP+ Emmys Rebound Bolsters 2024 Awards Show Ratings Leaning Into Genre, Big Stars for Dramas and Shooting Abroad a La ‘The Brutalist’: What American Execs Believe Will Help Make Industry Sustainable

A source close to the situation tells Variety that the previous deal actually does not expire until next week, and suggests that YouTube’s move is a negotiating tactic. SESAC is far smaller that ASCAP and BMI — with approximately 30,000 members and 1.5 million compositions while ASCAP has nearly 800,000 members — but as the caliber of artists affected by the block shows, it represents a comparatively large percentage of the marketplace.