Some of you may know that I produce music. If you have browsed my site before, you have probably found the music section. It’s one of many hobbies, including programming, electronics, and photography. I guess I got cursed with the creative gene. Some of it is original stuff, while some is remixes of other songs. In my world, a remix is the ultimate compliment, and they usually pop into my head when I hear something catchy or interesting on the radio or the internet. In the end, I always credit the original artist, and I consider it free promotion for the artist in question.
I have been posting my remixes online for years, with the ones I feel are the best ones ending up on SoundCloud. A few days ago, I received a message from SoundCloud telling me they had received a direct copyright claim from Universal Music Group on a two year old remix I made of Rihanna’s tune “Only Girl” and had removed the song from my profile.
We’ve received a report directly from Universal Music Group that your track “Rihanna – Only Girl (Noccy’s Dinkelbeat Remix)” contains “WORK” by RIHANNA. As a result, your track has been removed from your profile for the time being.
While it is true that I didn’t have written permission from UMG to make the remix, I have not made a dime from my remixes and I don’t intend to. They are as previously stated intended as a compliment. I would understand it if I had uploaded the original track, or posted it claiming it was mine, but I was clear about it being a remix. A remix isn’t piracy. A remix is promotion.
I have decided to make the remix available for download here for the time being, to allow you to get a taste of this horrific “infringement” and judge for yourself. The download link is available at the bottom of this post.
It would appear that copyright trolling isn’t exclusive to YouTube, where a lot of content producers have had their accounts flagged for content that in most cases is to be considered fair use, and in some cases are completely unrelated to the claim.
Please share this post with your friends, on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and whatever other social networks you frequent until UMG decides to stop striking down on the remix culture and fan remixes that do nothing but bring free PR to their artists.
