A couple from Gothenburg have gone so far as to stop the popular Christmas song forever and have started a fundraiser to buy the rights – an initiative that has spread like wildfire across the world, reports SVT.
— We sent a Christmas card to our friends and asked how much they were willing to pay to get rid of this song. Now people get in touch from New York to China. In addition, we have been showered by angry Wham fans, says Tomas Mazetti in SVT’s Morgonstudion.
Hannah Mazetti says that her distaste for the song began when she worked in a cafe in Oxford, UK many years ago where the song was played constantly throughout November and December.
The couple stress that it all started as a joke that has now “derailed a bit”.
— Someone told us that it was theoretically possible to buy the rights to the song and then remove it from all the streaming platforms. If, against all odds, we get there, I’m not that interested in pushing this matter further, then someone else will have to take over, says Tomas Mazetti.
The involvement in the couple’s fight has been great and according to Daily Mail the collection has so far brought in 62,100 dollars, corresponding to roughly 650,000 Swedish kronor. According to the newspaper, the rights to “Last Christmas” are owned by Warner Chappell Music UK and are valued at between 15 and 25 million dollars.