Grimes posted the music stems and video files for her single so anyone can remix it
Grimes recently released a new music video for “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Not Around,” and it came with a surprise: a content dump containing assets from her new album Miss Anthropocene and an invitation for anyone to remix the song or video.
The music video features Grimes in front of a green screen and was originally shot so her team could create visuals for the album. Now, it’s an opportunity for collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Because we’re all in lockdown,” she wrote on Instagram, “we thought if people are bored and wanna learn new things, we could release the raw components of one of these for anyone who wants to try making stuff using our footage.”
The file, called “Grimes Art Kit,” contains instructions for downloading all the different assets for “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Not Around.” It contains the lyrics, artwork, fonts, Native Instruments tools, video footage in 1080p and 4K, and all of the song’s stems — separated pieces of audio — including guitar, effects, the synths, and three layers of vocals. She says her team is working on securing free short-term access to the visual tools they use for those who don’t own pro editing software.
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You’re free to tinker with the song and video however you like, but if you post it online, there are some rules. It can’t be monetized, so YouTube and SoundCloud are the only approved platforms. And any remix of the song that’s posted belongs to the label, not you. Also, make sure your YouTube upload has “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Not Around” in the title and includes #GrimesArtKit in the description. Grimes’ team says this will ensure that all uploads using the song’s assets will get approved.
Having this sort of carte blanche access to remix a major artist’s content is a unique opportunity. Rights around a song’s ownership can be complicated and messy, and frustrations with platform algorithms taking down legitimate content is a longstanding gripe for many creators.
Grimes will be sharing some of her favorites, so if you’d like a chance at having your work reposted, tag her when you share on Twitter or Instagram and use the #GrimesArtKit hashtag.
Download the “Grimes Art Kit” instructions here to toy around and make your very own Grimes remix.
Grimes recently released a new music video for “You’ll Miss Me When I’m Not Around,” and it came with a surprise: a content dump containing assets from her new album Miss Anthropocene and an invitation for anyone to remix the song or video. The music video features Grimes in front…
