Elections

Rick Astley's music gets a boost following Melania Trump speech

Rickrolling is back after Melania Trump speech
VIDEO0:4200:42
Rickrolling is back after Melania Trump speech

Rick Astley may see a bump in his next royalty payout thanks to Melania Trump.

Astley's 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up" had a 19 percent increase in streams on Spotify following Mrs. Trump's speech to the RNC, a Spotify representative told CNBC.

The internet was abuzz following Melania Trump's plagiarism accusations of Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC Speech. But a different type of scandal emerged as social media users revived "rickrolling," an internet meme and prank using "Never Give You Up," first started in 2007.

Following Mrs. Trump's speech, memes, tweets, and videos spread gathering millions of views, comparing Melania's speech and Astley's music video side by side. Meme creators matched portions of the speech in which Mrs. Trump spoke about her husband, particularly the lines "he will never, ever, give up. And, most importantly, he will never, ever, let you down," with Astley singing, "never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down."

The Trump campaign responded to plagiarism accusations over Michelle Obama's speech, with a staffer writing a letter apologizing and offering her resignation.

The campaign rejected her resignation and says she will stay with the campaign.

The bump for Astley's song, meanwhile, could also mean more downloads and streams across music services for his other music.

Spotify has paid out more than three billion dollars to artists from its streaming service. Rumors are circulating over an initial public offering from Spotify as the company recently secured $1 billion in funding.