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* music in TV ads -- seeking your input
A year or two ago, I wrote a blog-entry discussing the pros and cons of artists licensing their songs for use in television commercials. My conclusion, ultimately, was that sometimes it seemed like a good idea for the artist, but it depended on the context and content of the ad.
The primary case-in-point when I wrote that entry was the use of the song "Stars", by the husband-and-wife duo the Weepies, in a commercial for the cable channel AMC (American Movie Classics). Recently, a remixed rendition of that same song has turned up in an Old Navy ad; furthermore, a new JC Penney spot is using a different Weepies song, "All That I Want", as its backing music. Both of these commercials are getting heavy play on the major networks, to the point that it's suddenly near-impossible to be flipping channels for an hour or two without hearing the Weepies on the TV.
Which is probably a very good thing for their profile. A quick web-search reveals quite a few online-inquiries on message-boards and such in which folks have asked, "Who's singing that song in that ad?" (with someone eventually replying that it's the Weepies). It's also a good thing for their family; a recent visit to the Weepies' website reveals that not only have they finished a new record due to be released sometime in 2008, they also just welcomed a new baby into the world. It tends to be easier to understand the economic push-and-pull of creativity vs. capitalism when young children are part of the equation.
The Weepies are, of course, far from the only band to have licensed music to advertisers; indeed, it's become an increasingly common practice in recent years, even for wholly unlikely songs (Mary Lou Lord covering Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" in a Target ad) or long-deceased artists (Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" in that landmark Volkswagen ad a few years back).
Mostly I'd like to use this blog-entry to open up the floor for discussion of this topic. I'd like to hear your thoughts as to whether hearing some of your favorite songs or artists in TV commercials is something you view as a welcome development, or a disheartening transgression, or somewhere inbetween.
The "comments" function on this blog has been a bit cantankerous at times, but I believe it's currently working properly, so give it a try and let me know what you think, if the subject interests you. Thanks in advance for anyone who replies; I'll make sure to check frequently over the next few days to approve and publish any comments that are submitted.
adios,
peter
Posted by peter on December 11, 2007 2:39 PM | Permalink
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Comments
While as an artist, I wouldn't hesitate to cash a VW check for the use of one of my songs, I can't help feel that it is a move made "acceptable" by the fact that radio is no longer an option for artists other than the Fergies and Fall Out Boys of the music world.
Does Wilco need the money? Was radio ever really an option for them? Or is it just a plain ol' money grab explained away by a press release citing the death of radio as an option?
Posted by: Darren | December 11, 2007 3:57 PM
I know that if someone like AMC, Volkswagen or Old Navy wanted to run one of my songs in an ad, I'd jump at the chance. It's sort of like selling out, but not really because the song itself (in my opinion) doesn't get inextricably associated with the product, and the exposure can be phenomenal. Leslie Feist is a great example with her iPod ad and the blowup of her song "1234" that followed.
Posted by: Joe Koch | December 12, 2007 9:27 AM
I think our impressions of a song, rightly or wrongly, are shaped by the experience we first encounter that song, or that artist. So, baby boomers who discovered their fave Beatles songs on the radio might have been appalled when "Revolution" was licensed to Nike years ago.
But, these days, there are so many ways to discover, or not discover, music these days: radio, video, YouTube, MySpace, Internet radio, satellite radio, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, etc... That fragmentation means there is no one sacred source of music discovery and adoption.
But why do I care if the corporation helping introduce me to Wilco is Volkswagen or Warner Music Group? The same goes for every other act. Labels are companies too. They might get their revenue solely from music, but they aren't pure, artistic entities either, as we all know. And radio is certainly just a bunch of mega-conglomerates dedicated to surrounding what little music they play with advertising.
So, if you're an artist, and you turn down a licensing opportunity with a brand, it had better be for a truly ethical reason like "I don't support tobacco products," because bands sell out to big corporations all the time - their record labels. And they do promo tours at radio stations owned by big corporations all the time.
Artists needn't worry about having to sleep well at nights when they license for ads. Fans need to realize artists are business people with a finite career window, and even if they own memories of a song, they don't own the song. If their memories or their ego can't handle the fact that "Sweet Home Alabama" is associated with KFC, or that Ingrid Michaelson licenses her tracks for an Old Navy spot, then too bad. It's not THEIR SONG to control.
Music is infectious, but people often need to experience a song more than once to adopt that song and the artist into their lives. If radio or video outlets are unwilling to play a particular song (and even if they are), then artists need to find ways to exploit their music to its maximum. And everything else is just bloviating fan ego trips. Seriously.
Posted by: Peter Kohan | December 13, 2007 11:55 AM
If not for that JC Penney ad, I might not have ever heard The Weepies. Now that I have, I'm glad I was one of those who was searching the intertubes to find out who was singing that song.
Did they "sell out"? I dunno. I think just about all the musicians I've ever known wanted to make some money with their music. When I was younger, I might have thought selling a song for a TV commercial was selling out (in a bad way). But these days, I guess I don't see it as necessarily bad.
BTW, Hi Peter. I don't know if you remember me from late eighties Austin. Time flies.
Posted by: John W. Eaton | February 12, 2008 1:13 AM