Ripped Off by “Glee,” Jonathan Coulton Rereleases His Own Mix-A-Lot Cover

Internet-savvy musician Jonathan Coulton got fans in a tizzy last week when he said the TV show “Glee” had ripped off his 2005 cover version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Coulton said that “Glee” not only used his exact arrangement, it may have sampled his audio.

Now Coulton is giving fans something to do besides hate on “Glee.” He rereleased the song as a single on iTunes, Google Play and other music services.

Coulton said he’d pay royalties from the single to Mix-A-Lot, and would donate proceeds for the next month to charity.

As for “Glee” publicly crediting him, it does not appear that’s going to happen, Coulton said on his Web site. “While they appear not to be legally obligated to do any of these things, they did not apologize, offer to credit me, or offer to pay me, and indicated that this was their general policy in regards to covers of covers.”

The song is already at No. 161 on the iTunes charts. I have no idea what that means in terms of sales, but it’s right behind “A Woman Like You” by Lee Brice, which topped the U.S. country charts nearly a year ago, and right ahead of one of the final numbers from the surprisingly good competitive a cappella movie “Pitch Perfect.”

Here’s a comparison of the two versions; Coulton in the left ear, and “Glee” in the right: