YouTube is bringing songs from Adele and other artists back to the US
YouTube announced Tuesday that it is bringing back music from artists including Adele, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar and others for users in the US, days after they were removed from the video streaming platform due to a legal rights dispute. It claims to have reached an agreement with the profits rights organization Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC), which collects and distributes royalties to songwriters, composers and music publishers.
YouTube is bringing back numbers
In one after on X (formerly Twitter) YouTube says it has reached an agreement with the SESAC. Content from previously blocked artists from the organization’s catalog will be restored to the video streaming platform in the coming days.
If you’re in the United States ➡️ ️we’re happy to share that YouTube has signed a deal with SESAC. Content (that was previously blocked) will be restored across all YouTube services over the next two days. We appreciate all your patience 🙏
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 30, 2024
Saturday YouTube announced that it had failed to reach an agreement with the for-profit performance rights organization “despite its best efforts”. For example, music from artists such as Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Mariah Carey and REM was blocked from users in the US, in accordance with copyright law. When attempting to play songs, users were presented with the following error message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”
Despite this, media reports suggested that YouTube had actually removed the content before the deal expired next week, perhaps as some sort of negotiating tactic.
After the music was removed, users flocked to social media platforms like X to complain about the problem. While some of them complained that YouTube was ruining their playlists due to songs being removed, others threatened to cancel their premium subscriptions. One user even asked for a refund or compensation but was disappointed.
YouTube at the time said that discussions on the matter continued in hopes of closing a deal, and the latest announcement brings good news as music from the aforementioned artists will be returning soon.
