YouTube Said to Be Blocking Songs by Adele, Kendrick Lamar and Other Artists in the US Following Legal Dispute

YouTube has blocked songs by popular artists such as Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, and Kendrick Lamar in the US, as per a report. This step is said to be taken by the video-streaming platform following a legal rights dispute with the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) — a for-profit performance-rights organisation having more than 30,000 songwriters in its catalogue. In response to queries, YouTube has acknowledged the blocking of content, stating the expiration of its license as the underlying factor.

Songs Blocked by YouTube

YouTube says it has been unable to strike an agreement with SESAC on renewal conditions “despite its best efforts”. Thus, music by artists under the organisation’s catalogue has been blocked for YouTube users in the US in line with the copyright law. However, citing sources, Variety reported that its deal with SESAC does not actually expire until next week and this move may just be a negotiating tactic.

In a statement given to the publication, a YouTube spokesperson said, “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.”

When attempting to play music by artists such as Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Mariah Carey, and R.E.M., users are said to receive the following message, “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

Following this development, YouTube users took to social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), complaining about the unavailability of music despite paying for the video-streaming platform’s premium subscription. Some of them also claimed that this move has “ruined” their playlists and asked for a refund or compensation, but met with disappointment as YouTube clarified it does not have plans to offer any sort of a discount to members. Users can cancel their YouTube Premium subscription as per its terms of service, it added.

Responding to user queries about hopes of them striking a deal, the video-streaming platform says discussions are continuing on the matter but there are no fixed dates for future updates yet.