by Nick Briz

Youtube has had a tumultuous relationship with the art of appropriation, pinned between millions of users uploading remixes of “copyrighted” material and the copyright owners (usually one of five major entertainment conglomerates). They’ve been known to censor and remove content at the request of the copyright owners (whether or not it’s fair use), or at best remove the audio track and/or plaster the user’s videos with ads. Safe to say, Youtube would be much happier if all the remixers just went away. This doesn’t only mean appropriated and remixed video but also original content with copyrighted music in the background (see Youtube copyright school). This is why Vevo (the MTV of Youtube) and Youtube’s decision to hire DJ Earworm as their spokesperson comes as a bit of a shock at first. DJ Earworm is a remix artist best known for his “United State of Pop” remixes. Below is the add for Vevo and Youtube’s new mobile music app with a brand new (paid for and approved) mix by DJ Earworm. If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em… it’s the American way: