On November 22nd, DJ Detweiler posted a screenshot of a message from SoundCloud that said his track, “John Cage – 4’33 (DJ DETWEILER REMIX),” had been removed because it appeared to contain copyrighted content. The joke here is that the original “4’33″” is completely silent and a remix would supposedly be just as soundless. Detweiler shared the image with the caption, “MADE A NEW REMIX TODAY, SOMEHOW THIS HAPPENED,” and he tagged a handful of music publications. The story was picked up online with headlines decrying SoundCloud’s over-reach of copyright law and the absurdity of content-protection algorithms.
However, Detweiler’s “remix” wasn’t silent at all, according to SoundCloud. “The upload referenced in the screenshot was not a track of silence and was taken down because it included Justin Bieber’s ‘What Do You Mean’ without the rightsholder’s permission,” the company says.