YouTube Blocks Hundreds of Music Videos From Many Mainstream Artists

Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar fans can’t watch their music videos on YouTube. A licensing dispute is leaving fans with a message stating that the content is unavailable across the United States. The issue lies between the streaming giant and SESAC, a performing rights organization.

SESAC, or Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, allows businesses to legally play music from the biggest stars in the music industry. They grant licenses to over 70 types of companies, including bars, hotels, restaurants, gyms, and retail stores. SESAC gives licenses to public performance rights for over 1.5 million songs. Businesses have an easy 5-step process to apply for the license on the SESAC website.

“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,” YouTube’s official statement read. “We take copyright law 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.”

There may be some confusion on the issue as not every song has been wiped from the site. Kanye West has a few different versions of his songs, whereas an official music video for one song remains available for viewing.

YouTube and SESAC are in the middle of negotiations before the deadline came and went leaving the two with missing music in order to be compliant with copyright law. YouTube is on X, responding to fan’s questions.

Other major artists also removed from the site include Britney Spears and Adele. The impact is quite large considering the online traffic that each artist brings to YouTube. Britney’s first hit that introduced her to pop music …Baby One More Time, has nearly a billion views alone. Other songs with massive viewing numbers include Toxic and Oops…! I Did It Again.

Kanye’s YouTube page has 2.5 million views on his latest single with rapper Ty Dolla Sign, Slide. Adele’s page has over 31 million followers and includes 15 of her biggest hits. Perhaps the biggest artist of those cut from YouTube, Kendrick Lamar, has 16 million followers and recently was announced a few weeks ago as the Halftime Show at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Lamar will take the stage during the world’s biggest football game in February 2025 to perform his hits, which presumably will include his biggest Not Like Us, his second song to publicly address his ongoing battle he’s had with rapper Drake. Music fans are greeted with this message from YouTube.

Music icon Bob Dylan‘s music is inaccessible as well as songs by Greenday, Beyonce and Nicki Minaj. Music fans stuck in the middle of this legal battle are irritated. On X, formerly Twitter, “You guys are literally blocking everything. All my songs and music videos are gone.” Another fan, “It’s even affecting anime songs. I have a playlist of it and a bunch of songs are gone cause of it. Sucks about the big name songs ppl are dealing with losing. Hope anime songs get fixed too.”

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. TikTok and Universal Music Group also butted heads earlier this year over the rights to music. The issue was eventually resolved.