YouTube’s missing hits will come back now that it has a deal with SESAC

YouTube has reached a deal with the music licensing organization SESAC that will bring back songs that were removed over the weekend. Many hit songs from artists such as Adele, Nirvana, and others disappeared, which YouTube blamed on the lack of an agreement to renew its existing deal.

In an email to The Verge, SESAC confirmed the new deal but noted that YouTube “unilaterally removed” the songs before their old agreement expired as of October 1st.

Scott Jungmichel, SESAC performing rights president and COO:

“We have reached an agreement with YouTube to equitably compensate SESAC’s songwriters and publishers for the use of their music. We appreciate the support and patience of our affiliates, as well as the artists who perform those songs. During our negotiations with YouTube, our affiliates’ works were unilaterally removed by YouTube ahead of the contract end date of October 1, 2024. YouTube has begun the process of reinstating videos featuring these songs.”

SESAC stands for the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, and its website says that it “currently licenses the public performance of more than 1.5 million songs on behalf of its 15,000+ affiliated songwriters, composers, and music publishers.”

“We’re pleased that SESAC reconsidered our offer. We’ve reached a deal and content will come back up shortly,” YouTube’s global communications and public affairs rep Mariana De Felice tells The Verge. The terms of the agreement, including how long it will last, were not disclosed. A post by @TeamYouTube on X confirmed that songs in the US were affected for both YouTube generally and on YouTube Music and said that they will be restored “over the next day or two.”

Update, September 30th: Added response from SESAC.