The Guy Who Wrote ‘Harlem Shake’ Says He Didn’t Make a Dime Off the Song “ A Brooklyn producer named Baauer mixes two samples over a great beat. It becomes the most popular song in the country. Some kids make a YouTube dance video that turns it into...

The Guy Who Wrote ‘Harlem Shake’ Says He Didn’t Make a Dime Off the Song

via theatlantic:

A Brooklyn producer named Baauer mixes two samples over a great beat. It becomes the most popular song in the country. Some kids make a YouTube dance video that turns it into an international sensation. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the producer “[hasn’t] seen any money from it.”

This is the story of “Harlem Shake.” It is also the story of the U.S. economy according to Kevin Ashton, who calls it a parable for our age of “makers and takers.” The artists make, he says, and the system takes. YouTube gets the page views, Warner Bros. distributes the recording, and Apple sells it on iTunes.

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  1. charlielagom reblogged this from theatlantic
  2. felinebroheim reblogged this from theatlantic
  3. anindiscriminatecollection reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    But here’s the catch. Baauer isn’t just a maker. He’s also a taker. And not a very financially savvy taker, either. One...
  4. ultraizz-y reblogged this from engineeringbytes
  5. everybodyshouldbenice reblogged this from engineeringbytes
  6. ridewithmyniqquh reblogged this from engineeringbytes
  7. engineeringbytes reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    well I think we should all start doing the Harlem shake for him. Seems appropriate ey?
  8. lfa1125 reblogged this from theatlantic
  9. shannonzs reblogged this from theatlantic
  10. kindlyf-ckoff reblogged this from theatlantic
  11. ikogin reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    Wait….Harlem Shake was a song?
  12. theatlantic posted this

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