Thousands of Music Videos Removed From YouTube

Popular Songs Vanish from YouTube

Thousands of music videos and songs disappeared from YouTube due to a failed agreement with SESAC.

Big names like Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Mariah Carey, and Green Day were affected because YouTube’s deal with SESAC is ending soon.

“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,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement Saturday to Variety.

They also 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.”

Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one of the many songs removed, leaving only unofficial uploads. Their official channel now only has live performances like MTV Unplugged.

Some Nirvana videos like “Come As You Are” appear in search results but can’t be played. A message says, “Video unavailable. This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

Want to watch Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”? It’s also unavailable. The same goes for all of Adele’s music and videos before her album 30, including hits like “Hello” and “Chasing Pavements.”

SESAC, which licenses over 1.5 million songs, has yet to comment on the dispute.

This situation makes fans wonder how long it will last.

It’s crazy how much music can just vanish overnight!