When I was surfing on rcrdlbl.com yesterday, I saw a new remix from Crookers of the track ‘Lollipop’ by Princess Superstar. The big Crookers fan that I am, I downloaded the track instantly. My first reaction: something is not right. Crookers mashed up some vocals with their awesome track ‘Sveglia’. But it’s weird that Crookers would just mash-up a track with another. That’s so not them. Look at ‘Tons of Friends’, nothing on there even resembles ‘Sveglia’ or ‘Knobbers’, so to do a remix of Princess Superstar on the beats of ‘Sveglia’ is just strange.
But this morning everything became clear. Crookers have become the victim of fraud according to statement released on the crookers.net. Three years ago they made a remix for the American singer, MC, DJ, yeah whatever, for her track ‘Lollipop’. Crookers were happy with the result and but it got turned down. Crookers never got paid for their work and the remix never came up again.
Until now! A couple of days ago, a new track was uploaded to the official Princess Superstar page on rcrdlbl.com. And it wasn’t a new track, it was the Crookers-remix from three years ago. Princess ‘Pooperstar’ Superstar decided to release the track anyway, after turning it down in the first place. Just like that. No consultation with Crookers and their management, no compensation, no nothing.
When the track got turned down three years ago (what were they thinking?) Crookers re-edited those beats into a new track: Sveglia. And the track became a huge hit. I think some people in Princess Superstar’s entourage were very pissed. They turned down a track that could have made her a real star.
To release the track now, when Crookers are at the top of their game, headlining the coolest parties, is just opportunistic, hypocrite, false and fraudulous. Princess Superstar uses Crookers in an ugly way. Crookers invested time, talent and effort in the track and they never got anything back. Except for now, when they got stabbed in the back.
I’m not an expert in copyright laws, but I’m pretty sure this is an infringement of those laws. Okay, they mentioned the name, but there was no consent on releasing the track. Crookers found out the way I found out: when it was available as a free download online. The whole operation is misleading and I hope Princess Superstar gets what she deserves. But I really, really hope that Crookers get what they deserve: recognition, compensation, apologies,…
Princess Superstar is releasing a new album late 2010. Hey, what a coincidence… And what a huge promotion. Releasing a remix from the world’s hippest DJ’s a couple of months in advance. Or maybe Princess Superstar needs some gigs, as there is one (!) listed on her MySpace.
Crookers themselves think of the ‘incident’ as unfair and disrespectful. ‘We would like to express our utmost disappointment about this operation. These shifting attitudes bewilder us’, thus Crookers.
But it isn’t the first time Princess Superstar would use a famous DJ to score a ‘real’ hit. In 2007 Perfect (Exceeder) was released, a mash-up with the vocals of Princess and the beats of Mason. But that collaboration was official, there was an agreement and both parties earned a lot, as the track was an instant hit in Europe.
Dear Bot and Phra, don’t let this ‘artist’ take advantage of you! Keep hanging in there and do what you’re best at: making awesome and original music that makes a crowd go wild!
oktober 22nd, 2010 → 11:25
[...] Engelstalige zijn iets spannender. De drie grote muziekartikels die erop staan (Bloody Beetroots, Crookers en Bennet Pimpinella) zijn tot bij de artiesten zelf geraakt via Twitter. Zo heb ik er ook op [...]