Dr. Matt Lee (mattl)'s blog

Web standards, accessibility, free/open source software, old UNIX/TV/Music and occasional wargaming

Remix Radiohead. Rickroll Radiohead. (2008)

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Bloves80spopmusic.jpg
We’re no strangers to love…

Radiohead is having [a remixing contest](http://www.radioheadremix.com/). I suggest you take a good, long look at the terms and conditions before you take part, especially the bit about you having to transfer your rights to Warner Chappell, Xurbia (Radiohead’s company) and Radiohead personally, by name, as songwriters. You also need a Mac, and iTunes, and to pay to download 5 tracks (which presumably are DRM free as you’re importing them into GarageBand), plus GarageBand, which is proprietary.
However, Radiohead are quite happily allowing people to [upload a five meg MP3 to their website](http://www.radioheadremix.com/upload/). Wouldn’t it be funny if people took it upon themselves to upload Rick Astley’s ‘[Never Gonna Give You Up](http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Rickroll)’, in various remixes, mashup and other interesting and creative ways, dozens of times, in protest to the rather unfriendly terms of the contest?
Just a thought.
In other news, Sony BMG is apparently threatening people for Rickrolling on YouTube.
I predict the track will get a single release in some form fairly soon. I hope Astley rerecords it and makes a mint off it himself.
Oh, and for anyone else wondering about yesterday’s post. Check the date.