Band of Horses dumps Wal-Mart, lives better :: Music News :: Articles

Ever since Of Montreal landed a medium-rare wad of cash from Outback Steakhouse, things have gotten a bit weird in the world of indie sponsorships. Wilco teamed with Volkswagen, the Go! Team abandoned its previous policy of no music for ads, and then Band of Horses dropped a bombshell on us: using material from Everything All The Time to shill for Wal-Mart? The world's 19th largest economy? Whoa, guys... isn't that crossing some sort of line? Apparently, lead Horse Ben Bridwell agrees.

In a phone interview with In-Forum.com, Bridwell announced that his band was pulling out of its deal with Wal-Mart, which called for a TV commercial featuring a Band of Horses song after a trial run on the web. Here's Bridwell's reaction to the deal and its backlash, as published on In-Forum:

"I called my family, talked to my girlfriend about it, talked to the guys in the band and decided it’s no big deal,” [Bridwell] said. “We tested it with that Web site thing that I figured nobody would really even see. But in the Internet age, you can’t do anything without someone catching wind of it.”

“Some fans, they don’t even give a crap. They’re like, ‘Whatever, bands got to get paid.’ But at the same time, I was reluctant to do it in the back of my mind, and some fans reminded me there is a reason to feel that way about it,” Bridwell said. “So once I saw our fans were let down by it, I nixed the TV commercial, and said, ‘You know what, this isn’t for me. Keep your money.’”

Although some had labeled this move a sort of Faustian deal with the devil, Wal-Mart (thankfully) possesses no supernatural powers and should allow the band to walk without a scratch.

Up next for the band? A deal with Ford trucks, which will feature the group's "Is There A Ghost" in an upcoming TV spot. Sound hypocritical? Sorry, naysayers: Bridwell is actually a proud owner of a Ford vehicle. Support what you love, we say.

Thanks to The Daily Swarm for hipping us to this update.

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