Inside YouTube’s SESAC Showdown: The Real Story Behind Thousands of Song Removals and What Happens Next

Everything you need to know about the licensing drama behind YouTube’s disappearing music.

YouTube’s vast library has recently shrunk for U.S. viewers. Since September 29, 2024, users attempting to access certain music content have been met with a frustrating message:

“This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

This isn’t just about official music videos – even user-generated content featuring SESAC-licensed tracks is getting the ax. So, what’s the deal? Let’s break it down.

What Is SESAC and Why Is This Dispute Important?

SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) is one of the three major performing rights organizations (PROs) in the U.S., alongside ASCAP and BMI.

This PRO operates on an invitation-only basis, representing a smaller but influential pool of artists including Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, and international acts like Burna Boy and Nicky Jam. As a result, it has licensed over 1.5 million songs on behalf of songwriters and music publishers.

The current dispute stems from an expired licensing deal between YouTube and SESAC.

Despite ongoing negotiations, the two parties have failed to reach new terms, leading YouTube to block affected content to comply with copyright laws.

It’s not just about music videos either. This also affects TV shows, commercials, and user-generated content containing even short clips of SESAC-represented music.

How Does Licensing Work, and Why Is It So Contentious?

Music licensing is a complex system that ensures creators are paid when their works are used.

These deals typically involve royalty payments based on how frequently songs are played or used. PROs like SESAC collect these royalties and distribute them to the artists, songwriters, and publishers they represent.

Unfortunately, the terms of these agreements can be complicated because platforms like YouTube operate on small profit margins.

They make money through ads and subscriptions, which they have to share with rights holders like artists and songwriters.

And because they also support user-generated content, they need to keep costs low while maintaining user satisfaction

But, what makes this even trickier is that it’s not just about full songs. Even that 10-second clip in your favorite meme video also needs to be licensed.

Additionally, technological advancements have made licensing more challenging. With so much content on YouTube, automated systems like Content ID are used to detect unlicensed music.

However, these systems are not perfect. So, some SESAC-licensed videos get blocked while others don’t.

The Stakes for Artists, YouTube, and SESAC

The effects of this licensing breakdown do not just affect the huge corporations involved.

For artists, the dispute directly impacts their exposure and revenue generated from YouTube views. That’s because, as one of the largest music streaming platforms, YouTube’s U.S. audience represents a huge portion of many artists’ earnings and fan engagement.

YouTube creators are caught in the crossfire too.

Many videos, including older ones with SESAC-affiliated songs, have been blocked.

YouTube does offer an editor tool that allows users to remove the blocked music from their videos, though. But, this process can be labor-intensive and might compromise the original intent or quality of the content.

As for YouTube itself, this affects both user trust and ad revenue.

Blocking thousands of popular songs for U.S. audiences could reduce traffic, especially among YouTube Music subscribers who rely on its large music library.

If unresolved, it might push users toward competing platforms, hurting engagement and revenue.

The stakes are equally high for SESAC, though.

They’re betting that by holding out, they can secure a better deal for their artists. But if this drags on too long, those same artists might start wondering if the grass is greener with other PROs.

Artists Affected by the YouTube-SESAC Dispute

As of the time of writing, the following artists have had some or all of their content blocked on YouTube in the United States due to the ongoing dispute with SESAC.

YouTube’s Rocky History With Rights Holders

This isn’t YouTube’s first rodeo with rights disputes.

In 2008, the platform faced a nine-month standoff with Warner Music Group (WMG) over licensing terms, resulting in WMG pulling its entire catalog from YouTube. The conflict was resolved in 2009, but it showed that streaming platforms often struggle to balance ad-based services and fair compensation.

However, it’s clear that some challenges remain and YouTube’s hybrid model continues to cause issues.

The issue isn’t just about the rights to master recordings but also the rights to the songs themselves. This makes things more complicated for YouTube compared to other platforms like Spotify, which licenses directly from labels and artists.

What Happens Next?

As it stands, we’re in a bit of a waiting game as there is no clear timeline for resolving this dispute.

Yet, both YouTube and SESAC have good reasons to want this resolved quickly. There’s too much at stake for both sides to let this drag on indefinitely. So, we can expect this to get resolved within the next few days.