Many popular songs have vanished from YouTube and YouTube Music: Here’s why (Update: Coming back)

Update: September 30, 2024 (05:02 PM ET): YouTube announces that it has secured a new deal with SESAC that will bring back all the missing songs. It may take a couple days before YouTube and YouTube Music start showing everything again, though.

Original article: September 29, 2024 (6:21 PM ET): Over the past few days, I encountered a frustrating problem on YouTube: many of the songs and nonstop mixes I used to enjoy were suddenly unavailable. When I tried to play them on either YouTube or YouTube Music, an error message appeared stating, “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

What made it even more confusing was that these videos and songs were still showing up in search results, my home page feed, and my playlists. I could click on them as usual, but then I was met with the error message when I tried to play them.

It turns out it’s a widespread issue, and it is happening because of a licensing dispute between YouTube and SESAC, the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers.

Team YouTube addressed the issue in response to a user’s query on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “Our music license agreement with SESAC has expired without an agreement on renewal conditions despite our best efforts. For this reason, we need to block certain music content on YouTube in the US.”

In a statement provided to 9to5Google, YouTube further explained its position:

“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.”

SESAC is important because it represents songwriters and publishers, ensuring their rights are protected under copyright law. Essentially, if music is being played in public, it needs a license from the copyright holder. SESAC provides a blanket license agreement, which many businesses find convenient and cost-effective for public performances of their songs.

The organization claims to represent top artists like Adele, R.E.M., Ariana Grande, and Kesha and boasts over 1.5 million songs in its catalog.

The impact of this dispute is significant, with a vast number of songs seemingly removed from both YouTube and YouTube Music in the US. Popular artists like Adele and Nirvana have been particularly affected, with many of their hit songs now completely disappearing from search results. However, the situation seems somewhat inconsistent, as songs from other SESAC-affiliated artists like Kesha are still accessible.

As of now, it remains uncertain when this issue will be resolved. Have you noticed any other artists or songs that seem to have disappeared? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.