Last Saturday, many popular songs became unavailable on YouTube and YouTube Music for American audiences, including songs by artists such as Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears, Green Day, Kanye West and Burna Boy. According to The Verge, although the license has not yet expired, playback of the songs will resume once YouTube completes negotiations on a new licensing agreement with SESAC.
Image source: YouTube
SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) is a society for the protection of copyrights of European musical authors and composers, founded in 1930. According to SESAC’s website, the society “…currently licenses the public performance of over 1.5 million songs on behalf of 15,000+ affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers.” Despite the fact that the society’s name indicates European authors, SESAC is involved in licensing musical compositions in other countries.
SESAC is smaller than its peers BMI and ASCAP, but its portfolio includes many well-known performers. In 2017, SESAC was acquired by private equity firm Blackstone.
«We have negotiated in good faith with SESAC to extend our existing deal. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, we were unable to reach a fair agreement before its expiration,” YouTube representative Mariana de Felice told The Verge. “We take copyright very seriously, and as a result, content provided by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the United States.” Felice added that negotiations with SESAC are ongoing and expressed hope that they will be completed soon and a new deal will be reached.