Sesac vs. YouTube: Adele and Bob Dylan can no longer be found on YouTube – Business

The sentence “Unfortunately this video is not available in Germany” is likely to still trigger negative feelings among many local Internet users even a decade later. Until 2016, countless music videos on YouTube refused to be played on German computers and cell phones. It was also because of peculiarities like these that Germany was considered an Internet development region (“new territory”) at the time. But perhaps history books now need to be rewritten, because since the weekend a similar saying has also greeted US YouTube consumers, the videos of Adele, NirvanaBob Dylan or Kendrick Lamar.

The reason is almost identical to that in Germany: a dispute between YouTube and a rights management company. Only this time the Google subsidiary is not arguing with the boring Gema, but with the somewhat more exciting Sesac. The company, founded in the 1930s by a German emigrant in the USA, basically does nothing other than Gema, but is still something special. Unlike most of its sister organizations, it is a for-profit company – with even more profit-oriented owners. It has belonged to the investment firm Blackstone since 2017. And it is – at least in terms of the value of assets under management – the world’s largest investment company.

Nobody really has the upper hand

A license agreement between Sesac and YouTube is now expiring. Despite “greatest efforts” They have not yet been able to agree on a new deal, writes YouTube on the X platform after complaints from users. That’s why you block the content, otherwise you’re violating copyright laws. However, there are slight doubts as to whether this is entirely true. So quotes the industry newspaper Variety a sourcewhich claims that the agreement actually doesn’t expire until next week. The fact that YouTube is already blocking the content could possibly be seen as a negotiating tactic.

The basic constellation is similar to that of Gema against YouTube. But there are a few differences that are good news for Adele fans in the USA. In a ten-year battle, Gema won royalties from its artists for the first time. This time Sesac against YouTube is only about extra time. And while the fight between Gema and YouTube could very accurately be described as David against Goliath, this time the world’s largest investment firm (Blackstone) and the fourth largest company in the world (Alphabet) are clashing.

With an investor like Blackstone in the background, Sesac can afford to forego income for a while. But artists like Adele and Kanye West won’t want to wait forever for income. And YouTube, which belongs to Google’s parent company Alphabet, has no financial need to come to an agreement quickly. On the other hand, the pressure from music fans is likely to increase quickly, as the blockage applies not only to ad-financed YouTube, but also to paid services that do not show advertising. With Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Apple Music, there are enough alternatives for Adele fans that are just a click away. Both parties therefore have good reasons for a quick agreement.

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