Songs used in Car Commercials

[mawpizzle]

yeah I agree about the whole sellout thing. I'm just talking about why many bands take issue with their material being used for product advertising.

[jen415]

The occasional pogues or dammed song in a commercial doesn't bother me. However, all the AC/DC songs used over the last year to sell everything from Gap Jeans to Dancing with the Stars has made me dislike their music.

[mikeehowe]

I wasn't saying they sold out. I was just poking fun at the people that use that term in regards to bands that allow companies to use their songs. It really doesn't bother me when a band allows it..especially when its a band like the stray cats that has been around forever.

I agree with the post by RudeBoy, I think its selling out when you sacrifice your own artistic ability just to make money. If you create art, a song, etc and a company tells you to change it all around just so they can make some money, i would call that selling out.

[HotRodder82]

not a commercial, but when i was watching The Break Up in the theatre last year, i was hootin and hollerin when Story of My Life came on, and another time when Ball and Chain was used in the trailer. people were yellin out stuff like "Social D Rules!"

gettin back to music promoting cars, if you read Rockin Down the Highway by Paul Grushkin, (forward by Mike Ness) it kind of makes sense to use music to promote autos.

[ScottMoore]

Henry Rollins had an interesting take on the subject a couple weeks ago on his show on IFC. Basically he made the point that people that grew up on this music are starting to move into positions where they can use "cool music" in commercials. He mentioned something along the lines that you're gonna see commercials one way or another, might as well have a good song playing in the background instead of some bullshit, and if you're dumb enough to buy something based on a song you're an idiot. I saw it a couple weeks ago, so I'm obviously paraphrasing but if you get a chance, check it out...

[golden*****]

Labatts Beer used NWO by Ministry in a TV commercial in Canada about 10 years ago. It was mind boggling at the time and still is and I saw no problem with it at all.

[mmsickboy]

I kinda liked that Teddybears/Iggy Pop song til I heard it in a Caddy commercial last year, now I just can't really listen to it without thinking about a Cadillac.

[wolfpits]

I want to see cool music in commercials and I have no problem with it. I think the main objective is to grab the attention of the main demographic of who they are marketting to. If I'm watching CSI one night and get up to take a piss during commercials and I hear a cool song come on, I'm going to check it out. Also, I think if an artist can make money off of their music, it's the American way.

Im curious what Paul McCartney thinks about this topic. Michael Jackson outbid Paul and bought all the rights to the Beatles music and soon afterwards the Beatles were selling Pepsi. Now that kind of made me angry; not the fact it was used in commercials, but because the original artists lost control of their publishing rights and had no say in how the music will be used.

<font color="#FFFF00" size="1">[ July 13, 2007 10:21 AM: Message edited by: wolfpits ]</font>

[mmsickboy]

Yeah music rights expire every 5 years I think and have to be renewed. Some asshat in the New England area bought all the rights to George Clinton/Parliament and James Brown back during the 80s and made a ton of cash suing artists and labels who sampled them.

[jen415]

In a documentary (can't remember which one) Henry Rollins said that they weren't necessarily against getting a recording contract with a major label, but they knew the type of music they wanted to play a major label wouldn't be interested in, and the didn't want to change their style to meet a major label's requirements. So that left Blag Flag and others to find ways to on their own to reach their audience like constant touring and starting their own record labels, and basically a lot of hard work. You have to think back to a time when you couldn't get a decent job with tattoos, or having a mohawk or blue hair might get you lynched in certain parts of town, or farther back to the Grateful Dead etc when having long hair was totally unexceptable. So you work hard barely making enough to live, and eventually you not only have a following for your music but you help change stereotypes for the better and finally a company that wouldn't give you the time of day when you first wrote a song now wants to use it in their commercial. Keep in mind that while the band gets paid, if the ad is successful the company advertising makes so much more money. What if it's a company that funds political compaigns that are against some of the ideas you have written about? Or, has moved their factorys out of the United States and your friends that once worked there are out of a job. If someone needs money I don't have an issue with doing what you have to do to keep you and your family from starving and generally getting what you deserve. I'm glad if by selling Lust for Life to Carnival Cruise Lines Iggy Pop was able to get his life together and can concentrate on making more good music, but does Sting who is already a millionare really need the money from having his song in a Jaguar commercial? I guess what I'm trying to point out is that while I want artists to make a living, I'm also glad that their are people that believe in things that are important to them and as long as they don't necessarily need the money can stick to them. I think I posted here before about John Densmore from the Doors saying that he loves hearing stories about how the Door's music effected people's lives. He would rather have someone think about losing their virginity to Light My Fire, then having them think of a MatchLite commercial!