WHY GOTYE NEVER MADE ANY MONEY WITH THE HIT SONG SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW
We are still bumping "Somebody That I Used to Know" over ten years after the hit song's initial release, thirteen years ago. Even if you don't want to acknowledge it, Gotye's incredibly catchy ballad is still amazing and can quickly fill an empty dance floor.
Imagine how many people have typed the 2011 song into YouTube over the years, as everyone from our moms and nannies to our next-door neighbours adores it.
Strangely, Gotye hasn't made millions of dollars despite the song's incredible 2,349,791,774 views over the years, which would obviously translate into a sizeable sum of money.
This is due to rumours that the singer, whose real name is Wouter André "Wally" De Backer, made some selfless choices to profit from the popularity of "Somebody That I Used to Know."
Gotye didn't monetise the music video
The Australian musician missed out on the possible benefits because he chose not to use pre-roll advertisements on his YouTube channel. "I'm not interested in selling my music," he clarified in a 2017 interview with news.com.au.
"That's why I don't post advertisements on my YouTube channel, which may seem odd given the current situation, but you have the freedom to choose. I’m like that with all my music. Ads are calling for our attention anywhere we turn in the world. I decided it made more sense to focus on creative things and not get hung up on money and lawyers and courts."
Gotye often lets people use the song for free
By refusing to license "Somebody That I Used to Know" for commercial use in films or television shows, Gotye also lost out on another enormous payday. Instead, he would prefer to give the song away for free to aspiring musicians and film students. The 44-year-old stated, "I don't mind syncing my music with creative projects like TV or film." "I have my own set of guidelines, and I always say yes to student films that want to use my work as long as there is no financial gain.
"I look at the project's creativity and budget if someone wants to use it commercially."
Gotye must divide any earnings with the musicians he sampled.
In addition to all of this, Gotye had to split the song's royalties because it primarily consisted of samples.
Despite only using two seconds of the 1967 song "Seville," which was composed by Brazilian composer Luiz Bonfa, Gotye gave his estate a fifty percent share of the song. In case you were wondering where you've heard the catchy tinkle in "Somebody That I Used to Know," it's a xylophone melody based on the nursery rhyme "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep."
Additionally, Gotye was required to divide royalties with Kimbra and other musicians who contributed to the song. Overall, there wasn't much left to distribute anyhow. Social media users have praised the musician for the "fantastic construct," and people still find the entire situation to be quite admirable.
"One of my favourite songs," one person commented. I was unaware of this. Someone else commented: "I've read about this before! unwilling to market his music. I admire him and use this mindset when creating art as well. Gotye declared he was taking a break from the music industry a few years after the release of "Somebody That I Used to Know."
After joining the band The Basics and starting a record label called Spirit Level in 2014, he later founded the Ondioline Orchestra in New York. When DJs Fisher, Chris Lake, and Sante Sansone released a remix of Gotye and Kimbra's song earlier this year, it gave the hit single a new lease on life. Hopefully, these three will give the singer some cash.