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VW + Wilco = Oh No?

Posted at 11:05 AM on June 20, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (10 Comments)

"You won't see a lot of Volkswagens parked at the next Wilco concert. The alt-country band's fans are protesting Jeff Tweedy's decision to license songs from the band's newly released Sky Blue Sky for a series of six TV ads promoting the car brand. The comments on message boards and blogs have been so hateful and angry that Wilco felt no choice but to respond."

I myself have been pretty conflicted about the Wilco song in the VW ads. Honestly, VW and Apple seem to be able to get away with featuring much-beloved and hipster songs in their ads in a way that many other companies cannot, and the "Pink Moon" VW ad used to drive me to tears (pun intended). Having heard everyone from Iggy Pop to Bruce Springsteen weigh in on what it means to license their work to be used commercially, I have to say I'm much more accepting of it now than I was a few years ago. Maybe that's not a good thing.... did I drink the Kool Aid of commercialism, or am I just happy that when I am inundated with loud commercials at least I like the songs that are blaring at me? (Though I still cringe at the Of Montreal Outback Steakhouse jingles, which don't appear to have any end in sight.)

Thoughts?

"This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement," the band wrote on the official Wilco website. "With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco), we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."

Moreover, the post continued, "Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide." We think music fans need to seriously calm down. After all, how are musicians supposed to make money and support their families when downloading is a common problem?

— The ARTISTdirect Staff

Comments (10)

Hoo boy! I haven't read or seen all the hubbub mentioned in such sweeping terms by Artists Direct nor did I notice links supporting this reported backlash. So let the cantankerous rant begin:

It doesn't bother me. Wilco doesn't have to answer to me. Do they have to answer to their fans? That's up to the band. Was the Kool-Aid good? Sure. Marketing and ads have brought some great art to the masses. Purists can deal with it or ignore it.

VW was smart to buy from them, IMHO. [Disclosure: Personally speaking I'm a fan of older VW cars and ads.]

Not to troll, I'd say generally songs by are written and performed by people who want not only to create art, but make a living at it. If they can sell it - and sell it smart, in a way that benefits them and the people who may enjoy their work - they probably should.

BTW, Your point about VW and Apple using alternative music / art / what have you (to great results, no less) is a good one.

Posted by Julia Schrenkler | June 20, 2007 1:20 PM

Are you kidding? I thought the "sell out" debate was (or at least should be) over. The record industry as we know it seems to be gasping its final breaths. Why not get your art to as many people as possible and get compensated? I once cried foul when bands would licence their tunes to ads. But really, how else, in the era of file sharing, are musicians to get paid? Its just too bad the Ramones (mostly) died before they could cash in.

Posted by Chad | June 20, 2007 1:32 PM

Never, ever sell out. Period. LOL. The rest is BS. Although a band with integrity is more inclined to make sure it's music is used with integrity. But that's where the debate ends because what media has integrity? Unless is PUBLICLY funded, of course. Ahem, ahem! It's going to be all about the mighty dollar. Sure, music is now being used to SELL things. But it's still being used TO SELL, THINGS and that's shallow and empty for me. But, if you're a band who doesn't have a problem selling things other than your music, well so be it. But let's not forget that songs used in commercials are first and foremost being used for this purpose. Then hopefully commercials will not become "The only" way to get your music heard. How about some more PUBLICLY funded radio stations out there to play these new songs!! (I know it's hard to imagine a road trip cross country with radio stations playing good tunes all the way, but just IMAGINE!)

Posted by Amy | June 20, 2007 5:46 PM

yeah... and we could talk about REAL fairies too.... but we live in this world... Yawn. an artist needs to survive and if you aren't selling millions of records well, you likely have a day job. so as long as you aren't whoring yourself for Hummer or Ak47 and the like. go with your instincts... I know that if "THE OC" came knocking on my door, I'd ask them which song they wanted....Good for Wilco. Good for PB & J... Good for The Shins (Mc Donalds...remember?.. i don't recall a huge stink about that and it's !@##%#$^ Mc DONALD'S!!!!) and i kind of liked that Pink Moon VW commercial too..

Posted by Wells T. | June 20, 2007 9:04 PM

Well, at least Wilco isn’t putting in ads for VW in their CD booklet like Toby Keith.
Saw him on ‘The Colbert Report” the other night and the last page of the booklet is a big ol’ ad for Ford Trucks.

Now THAT’s selling out.

Posted by Frick | June 21, 2007 9:37 AM

If I ever hear a familiar song with an ad, I consider it an ultimate compliment to the artist(s), that their music was chosen for such.

Posted by Ellie | June 21, 2007 10:09 AM

I kind of enjoy hearing a song I recognize & like in an ad. It certainly beats the jingly "plop plop fizz fizz" type music found in old commercials!
It also makes me think the company is hip and has good taste (well, at least in their choice of advertising agency). I also appreciate the ads that use music in its proper context, and artists who are discriminating in their decisions on which products they will allow to use their art. VW does a good job with their advertising, and produces a quality product. It seems like a nice fit.

The whole "art pour l'art" mentality seems a little archaic and silly to me. Are artists required to be barefoot and penniless, to be worthy? You'd think these folks would want the artists they love to be able to make a decent living, so they could go on producing that same music they love.

Seriously, now, if someone's refined music sensibility is so offended by the commercial use of an artist's music, perhaps they should quit their 9-5 job (which pretty much *all* require personal compromises of some type) and try living according to their own idealistic notions. I bet the romance of life as an appropriately starving artist living in a garret, wearing second hand store clothing and eating nothing but ramen noodles, would wear thin rather quickly.

Posted by auntie | June 21, 2007 11:15 AM

Not ignoring people here, just nabbing some things that stuck out:

*"I once cried foul when bands would licence their tunes to ads." - Chad

I'm curious... do you think the market changed or do you think you did? Both? There's no wrong answer, I'm just interested.

*"It can reasonate with the original emotion of the song, or it can prostitute it." - Steve

Well, it really comes down to that, doesn't it? In general I challenge the idea that "selling out" means no selling. I personally think it really means, "no clipping a price on your integrity" or actually handing your values over while taking the check in the other hand. If an artist - hell, any of us - has reached that deeply dark point, what is the point? Maybe that makes me a geezeryesque hippie or hippie-flavored geezer, but I doubt it. I'm sure what is acceptable to me might not be acceptable to someone else, and I say good for them. The rest can stay off the lawn around my VW camperbus!

*"The whole 'art pour l'art' mentality seems a little archaic and silly to me." - Auntie

But what about the aforementioned higher planes of existence? Remember that age when it was EVERYTHING? Didn't we feel alive? Wasn't it downright sexy? Maybe we need to get a taste of that again. Maybe the tension between making a buck and making the art needs to be adjusted back a little, in a smart way.

Posted by Julia Schrenkler | June 21, 2007 12:54 PM

Maybe I'm just getting a little cynical in my middle age, Julia. I didn't mean to sound so anti-idealistic. The thrill of creating something beautiful is undeniably exciting, but unfortunately it won't pay the mortgage or fill your gas tank.

Back in my 20s I was heavily involved in a small, fledgling, fringe-y community theater company. lurved it all dearly, but it was an awful lot of really hard work for no reward, except the satisfaction of seeing our creativity appreciated by others. Eventually the key players in the company, some of whom had families, and all of whom held full time jobs, got completely burned out and the company folded. Now, if someone had wanted to pay us a whole lot of money for the use of our creativity, we would have jumped at the opportunity, believe me! But that's not the way it usually words.

I just don't think people should jump all over an artist for wanting to make a little money from his creation. If the artistic quality of their work declines due to producing primarily for the commercial market, people will simply stop purchasing their product, so it seems self-limiting to me. I don't forsee that happening with Wilco, however.

Posted by Auntie | June 21, 2007 2:07 PM

I've had this slightly queasy feeling since I saw the first Wilco VW commercial. At first, when I read about it, I thought: great, go for it — now millions are hearing my favorite band. But then my son yelled "sell out" when the commercial came on and that's when this touch of nausea began.

They have every right to do it. But they also must realize it's a gamble. Is the money/exposure gained worth the hand-wringing from fans and purchasers of their "products"? (OK I bought the songbook but I DID NOT buy Tweedy's so-called-poetry book).

Pepto-Bismol, anyone?

Posted by maxx roby | June 25, 2007 5:09 PM

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VW + Wilco = Oh No?

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