After 24 years in charge, the founder of OverClocked ReMix David "djpretzel" Lloyd has announced in a message posted on the website's forums that he has officially stepped down from his role as president/admin/owner/etc of the popular online video game music community (as of October 28th, 2023).
In the same statement, he also revealed, additionally, that he has also stepped down from the board of Game Music Initiative, the 501c3 registered non-profit that funds the site and its operations, and will be working with Shariq Ansari (DarkeSword) to transfer the responsibilities to ensure OverClocked ReMix can continue its operations and evolve into the future. In other words, it's a true end of an era for the website and its online community.
Writing about the change, Lloyd said,
"I believe the principles that have driven us - embracing all games & all styles of music, emphasizing interpretation & creativity, offering both curation and critique, and providing a non-commercial platform for those who seek it - are truly timeless, but there are many ways to honor them.
I look to the new leadership/staff to galvanize, streamline, diversify, and re-imagine, within that immense space.
I'll be leaving them with some ideas of my own; please let them know yours. I ask the community to support them, embrace change, provide guidance, and be patient; I believe it will be worth it!"
Lloyd originally founded OverClocked ReMix on December 11th, 1999, with the intention to promote video game music as an art form and to provide a place where composers of all kinds could pay tribute to video game composers by submitting new remixes and rearrangements online.
As Lloyd says in the statement, however, he recently began to feel like he didn't have "the bandwidth to do these roles justice and to not only maintain, but advance, the missions of both projects". So instead, he is leaving the site in capable hands and plans to spend the reclaimed time and energy on his family as well as working on his own music.