154 Million Rickroll Views Earns Pete £11

Pete Waterman, the force behind dozens of multi-million selling chart hits, said the Rick Astley classic Never Gonna Give You Up, which he co-wrote and which was the subject of the Rickroll YouTube craze last year, had earned him just £11, despite being viewed 154 million times.

At a press conference to mark the launch of a website campaigning for a fairer deal for songwriters whose work is featured on YouTube Waterman said local radio was more profitable for him than the internet.

“There was I sitting at Christmas thinking, ‘I must have made a few bob this year with the old Rickrolling’,” he said.

“I rang my publisher and they said ‘You’ll be all right’, until I saw the royalty statement. £11.

“If 154 million plays means £11, I get more from Radio Stoke playing Never Gonna Give You Up than I do from YouTube.”

Posted on April 10, 2009 | Filed Under Music

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