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In recent years, it's become increasingly common for musicians to eke their way out of the indiesphere by planting their songs in, gasp, mainstream advertisements for major corporations. And while it may be disarming for music snobs to hear Sam Beam's serene voice coming not from their iPods, but from a commercial hawking M&Ms, everybody needs to make a living.
What's not so common is when artists provide explanation to their respective commercial endeavors. But when singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile's song "The Story" was recently used in a GM ad, she did just that. So before you get on your high horse about SUVs and global warming, listen to Ms. Carlile's reasoning:
"When GM first approached our band to use 'The Story' in their 2008 Olympic ad...I promptly and politely declined. But, when they came back to us and offered to involve us in an ad campaign promoting hybrids, biofuel, bio hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars and...the Chevy Volt, I felt the need to think twice about having the opportunity to be a part of a huge American car company creating an ad campaign for environmentally responsible cars."
Carlile went on to say that the group would be donating all money made by the ad to various environmental organizations that support alternative energy sources. In short, Carlile not only explained her choice, but also hurled some substantial weight against anyone prepping their betrayed cry of "sell out."
Related links:
Brandi Carlile on MySpace
YouTube: Brandi Carlile - "The Story"
Feature: A Brandi and Two Chasers
Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
"When GM first approached our band to use 'The Story' in their 2008 Olympic ad...I promptly and politely declined. But, when they came back to us and offered to involve us in an ad campaign promoting hybrids, biofuel, bio hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars and...the Chevy Volt, I felt the need to think twice about having the opportunity to be a part of a huge American car company creating an ad campaign for environmentally responsible cars."
Carlile went on to say that the group would be donating all money made by the ad to various environmental organizations that support alternative energy sources. In short, Carlile not only explained her choice, but also hurled some substantial weight against anyone prepping their betrayed cry of "sell out."
Related links:
Brandi Carlile on MySpace
YouTube: Brandi Carlile - "The Story"
Feature: A Brandi and Two Chasers
Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
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I like her thinking. I believe that I read somewhere that Buddha says that he or she who is now your enemy may, one day, be your friend, and vice versa. Black Flag once sang, "They hate us, we hate them, it's no use." It is useful to get along, and to work together. "The Revolution" must be one of peace and cooperation, not some sort of a mess like that which is going on with Georgia and Russia right now.
Best,
Mikel K. Poet
This is pretty interesting. While Brandi will lose some fans from this recent jolt onto the "main stage", it will not be because she sold out. Rather because of the trend of music listeners to listen to amazing until everyone else knows about it. A trend that I can't say I haven't taken part in.
The truth is that she made a bold move to turn down an undoubtedly large sum of money to prove to people the caliber of musician and person she is. I don't know about the general public, but I'm impressed.