Today is the day that lots of people on TikTok, including myself, were waiting for: the release of Rave Forever, a song by German DJ and producer Tiscore. Clips of the song have been making the rounds on that site and today the world got to hear the entire song, released on German EDM label Kontor. It is a short but happy song, a track with a nod to how bad things are getting in the world.
“We got the beat in our hearts, even if the whole world is falling apart. I know that we will rave forever!” That is a short but powerful message: no matter how bad things get, even if World War III becomes a reality sooner rather than later, people will still dance the night away. Yes, the song is great, but there are a couple of problems.
Before continuing, though, I would humbly point out that perhaps the lyrics should have gone, “even though the whole world is falling apart,” given that, yes, we are falling apart and it’s not going to end well for us. But I digress.
The only thing original about this song are the lyrics. But then again, I am not certain about who wrote those lyrics, Tiscore or someone else. Based on his total lack of true originality, I wouldn’t be surprised if he paid someone else to write those lyrics.
Tiscore didn’t, in my opinion, bring much original music. He used Pachbel’s Canon in D Minor. Yes, that’s public domain, but people, supposed “artists,” are still using it, which is of course legal but not very original.
But then again, most DJ’s these days are using music that they didn’t write, under the guise of remixing. I’m willing to bet that many of those so-called DJ’s are simply not capable of composing original music, instead relying on stepping on the backs of true artists.
Tiscore is, in my opinion, one of those DJs. I am unable to find the credits for the song, so I can’t say for sure if he wrote the lyrics or relied on someone else to do the dirty work. Given that he’s apparently used the works of others at last twice in this song, I truly don’t believe that those lyrics are his. I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so!
One source on the internet calls it the “rave anthem of the year.” Well, yes, the song is good, even if it is heavily composed of work done by other people and not Tiscore himself. It’s rather arrogant to call anything the anthem of the year when we’re basically only three months in.
Now, to the bigger problem, if it even is a problem. But first, some quick background. I am proud to say that, while in junior and senior high school, I founded and ran the Unlimited Too Fan Club, a US, internet-based fan club for Beneluxian dance group 2 Unlimited, known for many songs that are true dance anthems that have stood the test of time for over three decades.
I and the fan club were interviewed and mentioned by media outlets around the world, as far away as Austria. In high school, any 2 Unlimited song became “my” song. That’s how well I was known for the fan club. Yes, many 2 Unlimited songs were and still are hits. 2 Unlimited has been sampled many times.
One of those songs is No Limit, released in 1993. It peaked at #1 in 35 countries. It is a true dance anthem. But here’s the problem, or rather potential problem: Rave Forever sampled the song 44 seconds in for about fifteen seconds. The question is: did Tiscore and Kontor do the right thing and approach the publishing company for clearance, which would involve some form of payment?
I have reached out to Byte Records and DeCos Publishing. I have also reached out to the artist himself and the record label. Look, Kontor is a major label, so I am sure that they covered all of their bases. So far, I have not gotten a response as to whether or not the sample is legal. I have looked high and low, but I cannot find the credits for this song. If the credits were available and they credited the composers, I wouldn’t contacted anyone. So, just to be safe, I did what I did.
The only reason I’m even stepping into this particular kiddie pool is that, back in high school, I purchased a rave music compilation album. One of the tracks heavily sampled Twilight Zone, another 2 Unlimited song, this one from 1992. I immediately contacted 2 Unlimited’s US record labels and they were not aware of the usage.
In the end, I received a finder’s fee from the American label. I don’t know what happened, but I am certain that money exchanged hands, especially since they gave me a nice piece of paper with numbers on it. I did agree to not publicly name the group, so I will honor that. The point is that when I hear a song that uses a 2 Unlimited sample, I will reach out to let the right people know if there’s any doubt in my mind that the usage is legal.
I think I did the right thing by approaching Byte Records and DeCos, both run by the same person. If Tiscore and Kontor did not get permission, then he’s going to go after them like a pit bull after a raw steak. If they did get permission, and I’m reasonably certain that they did, then he’s already aware.
Now, I do need to do the ethical thing and tell both sides of the story. Obviously, 2 Unlimited remains one of my favorite groups ever, but they themselves had a little sampling issue in their song Get Ready for This, a 1991 song that made a splash all around the world. It peaked at #38 here in the USA. The song is still used in sporting arenas, even after all these years.
However, the song has a wee bit of a sampling issue. In the original version, the song starts with “y’all ready for this?” That’s a sample from a rap song. The there’s the “yeah, yeah,” which was created by a DJ, not the composers of the track. By the time that their final album, Hits Unlimited, was released in 1996, the DJ was added to the credits for the song and, I’m assuming, that the composers wrote him a nice check.
Now, the song has been updated and is known as Get Ready, so that DJ is not entitled to royalties from that updated version as the “y’all ready for this?” and “yeah, yeah” are original. That DJ, however, still gets royalties from the original version. So, yes, 2 Unlimited did sample others’ work and apparently, on this one occasion, did not seek permission.
I interviewed one of the founders of the group, who also composed and produced Get Ready for a radio show that I once hosted. He admitted to sampling, but pointed out that sampling was common in that era. He was right, but even though I am their former US fan club president, I was slightly disappointed to hear about that. They still should have cleared those samples.
But that’s in the past. The composers are still entitled to royalties from all of their works, including Twilight Zone. Hopefully, Tiscore and Kontor did the right thing here. I am cautiously optimistic that they did do the right and the legal thing, but just to keep them honest, I do not regret pointing the rights holders to the song.
Not that it matters as far as this article is concerned, but 2 Unlimited continues today with the only original performer, Ray, remaining. The original producers are on board, albeit under a completely different business arrangement. Soon, 2 Unlimited may be a thing of the past as Ray recently admitted in a TikTok video that “2025 nearly broke me. I was about to leave 2 Unlimited.” But that’s a whole different article that I simply don’t feel like writing.
Getting back to the original intent of this article, if any of the people I’ve reached out to respond in regards to Rave Forever and a potential sampling issue, I will update this article at the bottom.
Even though Rave Forever is a cute little song with an extended version that also samples No Limit. The song comes with a timely message, but the fact that Tiscore relies heavily on the work of others as opposed to being totally original shows exactly why I am disappointed in and slightly enraged by the DJ’s of today. They’re all over TikTok and they all remix songs written and composed by others. Hopefully, they’re all literally paying their dues.
I am absolutely not going to provide a direct link to purchase either or both of the version. They’re available on most major platforms, so if you want to hear the song, go find it on your own. Tiscore does not deserve the honor of a link from me.
Yes, all it takes to be a DJ these days is to not be original, but to walk all over the backs of others.
That’s just sad.