Mad Men is the only show on TV that I can’t wait until it’s done being DVR’d to watch, therefore it’s the only show whose commercials I actually watch.
So last night my mouth gaped when I saw the new ad for Bing (which, frankly, I’ve never used—nor do I understand what it does) featuring one of my favorite new bands, The Lumineers. The Lumineers are this grungy little bar band whose song “Ho Hey” has never failed to make me happy. They’re a little band of musical gypsies, a real musician’s band, playing songs that make everyone in whatever small venue they’re rocking stand up and dance or cheer or sing along. They’re the real deal.
And now they’re on a Bing commercial (above).
Remember like 12 years ago when no self-respecting musician would be caught dead hocking products on national TV?
Well, times have changed. With electronic downloads now outnumbering CD sales, it’s nearly impossible to make money as a musician. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t even bought an iTunes album in months—not since I discovered Spotify. Despite Spotify being a legit source of downloading music (no piracy allowed), I can’t imagine The Head and The Heart (to whom I’m jamming right now) are making much money from my repeated listens. And I’m sure that if you haven’t heard their song Lost in My Mind on a commercial, you soon will.
So despite my purist roots (I was raised on Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones), I get it. And I’m glad for The Lumineers that they’ve struck a deal and are finally going to make some cash. I know that this is the future for musicians, it’s just hard to accept that the dirty little bar band I loved because I felt I had some sort of intimate musical connection with them is now the soundtrack of Bing. It’s okay, I’ve still got Banana Gun, the best rock band no one’s ever heard of (listen to ‘The Flame’)…
I guess that the fact that every band sells songs to TV commercials means doing so is no longer considered “selling out.” But I’m OK with that.
What do you think of what’s happening in music right now?
Has the advent of “selling out” created better or worse music?
What’s the worst case of “selling out” that you’ve ever seen? Was anything worse than Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” song being used for a BMW ad?
Is there any merit to being a band that doesn’t sell out, if it turns out nobody hears your music because you went broke?
Do you miss the era of the true “Rock Star”? Will there ever be another rock superstar like Robert Plant, Mick Jagger or Eddie Vedder?
(I’m including, below, a video of the same song performed live, the way bands like this get into your soul – a bunch of guys on stage without a bunch of glitz or production.)
About Joanna Schroeder
This popped in my Google alerts b/c I also love The Lumineers and it was an Interesting read, thank you. When’s the last time you saw The Lumineers? They’re playing small theaters these days – a grungy little bar band they’re not anymore! :0) Personally, I LOVE that a band I love is getting this kind of National attention and money for their music.
In addition, I believe heard THATH on a few American Express commercials when that record came out, too — it’s almost a sign of success these days. The Stones, Dylan, etc… all have licensed their music and advanced their careers: touring, record sales, and more with the help of that sync and publishing money. I don’t think they’re selling their souls — just exploiting income in different ways in an ever-changing business that fewer consumers think that they should have to pay for. For better or for worse.
“I guess that the fact that every band sells songs to TV commercials means doing so is no longer considered “selling out.” But I’m OK with that.” — Me too. But it’s not just because “everyone’s doing it” that makes it OK.
“What’s the worst case of “selling out” that you’ve ever seen? Was anything worse than Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” song being used for a BMW ad?” — I couldn’t disagree more. I think that commercial exposed an entire new generation to Janis’ music and I’d be interested to look at the Greatest Hits, Pearl and/or the single sales (if that existed) when that sync hit the air. I bet that her estate, the publisher, Bob Neuwirth and the other guy who wrote that song got paid pretty well. The worst case of selling out that I’ve ever seen was on some shitty MTV reality show. Mostly it was so bad because the bands don’t get paid up front for those shows — just residuals — and that bums me out a little. The show was also tough to watch.
“Do you miss the era of the true “Rock Star”? Will there ever be another rock superstar like Robert Plant, Mick Jagger or Eddie Vedder?” — I wasn’t old enough to know those guys really (and I’m not *SURE* that Eddie belongs on that list,) but even still, yes. WIth everyone having so much perceived access to everyone else these days, a rough economy and music consumers not putting a value on recorded music that perfect storm is super hard to achieve. Bono did it, though as have Coldplay, Radiohead, Jack White and a myriad of EDM Djs too. All are arguable true Rock Stars and all of them have licensed music.
Anyway, I’m glad this band inspired you to write something. I think that’s when art/film/music and other mediums are truly working — when they move you to do something and feel something. Thanks again for the read and all the posts on the band.
In the UK, Johnny Rotten from The Sex Pistols doing an I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter ad and Iggy Pop doing an insurance ad both take some beating.
I honestly don’t blame them. For another thing, how are they going to get noticed when radio is increasingly becoming segmented and segregated? I’ve discovered artists through satellite radio (what used to be Muzak) rather than radio or even YouTube.
When people say that bands can just sell Tshirts and tour, I think they’re missing the point. T shirts and tours are added expenses, and frankly not every musical act can translate to t shirts. As well, there are many artists for whom the recording is their chief artistic expression. Andy Partridge of XTC has rarely toured not because he’s lazy but because he has crippling stage fright. If commercials pay the bills, why not?
I’m a musician, and I care a great deal about that mysterious thing called artistic integrity. I’m a huge Stones and Dylan fan myself, for what it’s worth. And I’ve always found it kind of ironic when musicians who appear in ads or secure any type of corporate sponsorship are accused by the public of “selling out.” Yet the public has no problem with the same band signing a deal with a record label, which is traditionally who bankrolls the creation and promotion of your favorite bands’ work.
Let me tell ya who is really going to sell your soul down the river: it’s the record label, every time. You sign a record contract, the label pretty much decides what your music is going to sound like, who’s going to produce it, and whether it gets released at all. If they decide to shelve it because they don’t like what you did, you won’t be able to sign with anyone else until your contract is up. And it’s not likely you’ll be able to secure the rights to the recordings you just did for the label, even though the label says they won’t release it. And if they do release it, every penny the label spends on production and promotion has to be recouped out of YOUR royalties before you ever see a penny of it. This is all industry standard practice for labels and has been for decades.
On the other hand, if you appear in an ad, the typical deal is: they like your song and they use it in the ad. And you get paid. End of story. They don’t tell you what to play, they don’t expect you to change your music, unless it’s a work for hire in which case you get paid a fee for doing what they tell you to do and then you have no further obligation to them. Usually, your song gets played in the ad exactly as you intended it to sound. They aren’t in the business of exercising control over your art – they just want to sell perfume or soft drinks and they’ve decided your music fits well with their ad as-is. You get money to fund your next recording or tour, and you gain a wider audience for your music. Would you rather that more people heard your favorite band, so they can keep recording and touring, because people get exposed to their music via an ad for Bing? Or would you rather no one heard of them at all? Or would you rather they signed with a label and their music gets watered down into an unrecognizable form?
As long as you’re hearing music that sounds as the artist intended it to sound, who cares where you hear it?
Awesomely insightful, LF!
Also, you’re correct that plays on Spotify earn almost nothing for the artist. If you really want to support your favorite bands, buy their CDs and rip them into your iPod or other digital library. Buying the downloads off iTunes or Amazon pays the artist better than Spotify, too, but not as much as the hard copy does, especially if the band is producing their records independently or via a small label.
I’m not going to lie to you, LF, even back when CDs (or cassettes, or records for that matter, I am a child of the 80s) were the only options, they were still a waste of money for me. I lost/destroyed almost every CD I ever had… Though I do still have one of those giant black books with the sleeves full of scratched CDs (only like 40% of them are Indigo Girls or Tori Amos, haha).
I LOVE Spotify. I’m sad they don’t pay the musicians much, but it’s better than nothing?
I do buy iTunes or MP3s from Amazon… But I can’t get behind CDs (except for my son’s Suzuki CD we listen to in the car).