So it’s long been the proverbial nightmare and/or kiss of death for a indie or underground band to be either endorsed by or endorsee of mainstream products. As soon as MTV, Billboard Top 10, or your mom starts talking up the new MGMT single, well, the band loses a bit of what made it so special. The sad reality of bands with largely hipster fanbases, is that while they will be your biggest supporter and proponent one minute, with a whiff of mainstreamosity, they can and often will turn their backs quicker than you can finish their album.
So why, then, the influx of Indie bands going mainstream? I speak particularly to TV commercials. Now we all know the ubiquitous Ipod ads, with everyone from Fiest to Wynton Marsalis to Cansei de Ser Sexy (P.S. Blatantly ripping off Zune’s
previous ad with the same song). But it doesn’t just stop at Ipod. With Madison Ave releasing a barrage of snide and
self-deprecating adverts, they’ve apparently deemed Indie music as the holy grail to reach the illusive 18-34 year old. And unfortunately, were not even just talking about about cutting edge products like Zune and Ipod. I’m talking:
*Click to see ad
Damien Rice - United Airlines
Death Cab for Cutie - UPS
Of Montreal - Outback Steakhouse
Damien Rice - M&M’s (same song, 2 commercials . . .sell out)
Griffin House - Rembrandt Toothpaste
Band of Horses - Ford
Wilco - Volkswagen
I mean the list goes on and on. What the hell is the deal! Where did the artists go who spit in the face of bland mainstream corporatization. Now to be fair, BOH did pull out of a deal with Wal-Mart (only, though, to move on to Ford shortly thereafter). I guess I have to assume that these bands weighed the costs / benefits to going mainstream, and somehow came to the conclusion that it was in their best interests. Maybe the thought of alienating your fan base now comes second to a fat paycheck in your wallet. They need to realize that they live in a music realm where their success is directly proportional to the positive word of mouth from their fans. The people that truly appreciate your music for what it is, where it came from, and what it means don’t often sit idly by to watch an artist sell-out.
I guess I can’t wholly complain, though. I do have to admit that some of these commercials border on decent, including BOH’s ‘The Funeral’ in the Ford Commercial. Its an amazing song, and personally I think it add’s something special to the piece. Griffin House’s commercial was even ranked the 12th most romantic commercial of all time by Playboy.
To me it just seems interesting; a genre dominated by big names, big budgets, and, more often than not, terrible music, has opened its arms (and vice versa) to indie musician’s. There may be something to say after all about Pop exposure, elevating these amazing bands from the kiddie pool and tossin ‘em in the deep end.
Maybe we’re nearing the end of the selfish propensity of every indie fan to hoard great new music and abhor their inevitable rise from obscurity. Maybe its finally time to share.
Thoughts?
8 responses so far ↓
1 Liz // Feb 24, 2008 at 5:38 pm
They need to realize that they live in a music realm where their success is directly proportional to the positive word of mouth from their fans.
Exactly. So why not get their music in front of as many potential fans as possible? For every “hipster” fan who turns their back on a song because it’s in a commercial, there are probably twenty more who were turned on to it. And if even half of those people tell a friend, hey, there’s more of that precious word of mouth than the one fickle hipster. Most artists just want fans who like their music. And if someone suddenly thinks a song is no good because it was on their TV? Do they really want the fan who liked that the song was “unknown” more than they liked the song itself?
If the music changes to sound more mainstream, that’s one thing and that sucks. But if it’s a good song that you like and a company wants to use it? So what? How does that change the quality of the song and your enjoyment of it?
And hey, most artists I know who have done commercials have put that fat paycheck right back into making their next album, or buying a van for their next tour, etc. This is a way for them to continue to make their music without the monetary support that record labels used to provide.
Sorry, I don’t mean to rant, I just can’t begrudge artists trying to support themselves and their music any way they can. I want them to be able to keep making it, instead of taking a day job to pay their rent or feed their kids.
2 Jason // Feb 25, 2008 at 5:16 pm
This raises a good question. Do we like the music because its relatively unknown, or because its just plain good?
I’ll often find myself listening to a track from an Indie band and think, “Why is this not a #1 single?” A few months later, you hear it on the radio and think, “What the hell, they sold out! Well, at least I listened to them first.” Did your opinion of Hot Fuss change after the Killers signed with Island?
This mentality embodies the negative connotation to “Indie”. In regards to music we are selfish and have bloated egos. Its the brand we bare.
The irony is the music isn’t ours to protect. Who are we to get mad if The New Pornographers sold one of their best tracks to University of Pheonix Online, a purveyor of second-rate degrees, or if Mylo plugged Kraft’s dressings with Otto’s Journey. Those wheelings and dealings don’t change the compositions of the songs that we have grown to enjoy.
One could also put forth the argument that “indie” has become mainstream. 15 years ago, the real indie fans spent the bulk of their time in record stores, stumbling upon the gems that are Slanted and Enchanted and Loveless. Thanks to the internet, Neon Bible peaks at #1 in Canada, and #2 in the U.S.
It also seems that we hold a double standard. Its OK for Broken Social Scene to lend half of You Forgot It In People to the soundtrack of Half Nelson (great movie/great CD), but when MIA and The Go! Team tracks are backing Civic commercials, or M83 sells Don’t Save Us From the Flames to Mitsubishi…they sell out?
Listen, I like Indie music. But, bitches gotta get paid. As long as the money doesn’t stifle their creativity, and their music isn’t impacted by the success, why should we really care? Your either a fan, or your not. And if we are, we DO “support” them right? Or don’t we?
3 Allison // Feb 25, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Remember in the 90s when indie started going mainstream, and Pavement was all over the damn place? Same thing is happening here. I mean, yeah, it’s a much larger scale now that you can go google a commercial and be immediately told who sings the song. But then I think about it this way : I’ve worked in retail since the late 90s, and god bless those bands who decided to release their songs to Muzak. Because I swear on all that is holy, if I had to listen to 8 hours of straight Beyonce and Mariah Carey, without a bit of the Postmarks, or The Decembrists, or even Belle & Sebastian (god love ‘em for only licensing their music for films, eh?! murdoch and the gang know their fanbase better than most bands, i’d say).. I would probably shoot up the whole mall.
In the case of the of Montreal atrocity.. well.. Kevin Barnes has been getting progressively weirder over the past 8 years.. so I am not suprised. I mean, this is the guy that dances around in a clear child’s raincoat and sailor pants.
And in regards to Jason’s comment there.. I don’t think that music for film is selling out. Spoon doing the music for “Stranger Than Fiction” was incredible, same with Kimya Dawson/Moldy Peaches in “Juno”. I know that those guys would NEVER have gotten exposure on that grand a scale had that movie not done so well.
I think I’m at that point in my life where I no longer feel hatred to the bands that make it. I feel like a proud mama. I’ve followed of Montreal since I was in high school, same with Modest Mouse (who i will always love), and Mates of State. I feel proud of them (except for the outback steakhouse thing). I would love to see Dressy Bessy get some success, or my buddy Fishboy, who writes some of the most amazing twee you’ll ever hear.
Play on, kids. play on.
4 Jason // Mar 6, 2008 at 8:35 pm
And not to be a dick, but the band in the UPS commercial is the Postal Service (how appropriate)…not Death Cab (although those bands do share the same singer)
5 Andry Haryanto // Mar 22, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Second to Jason’s correction. The UPS song is Such Great Heights by The Postal service. No wonder you thought it was Death Cab, ‘coz those bands have similar musical qualities. Great post.
6 Blake // Mar 28, 2008 at 6:27 pm
You can add Justice in a Cadillac commercial into the mix.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9uFSptJzg
7 Gant // May 13, 2008 at 12:12 am
You can add Fujiya & Miyagi, Collarbone. From the Miller Lite Beer Heaven commercial.
8 Michael Berner // May 13, 2008 at 2:33 am
Look at the demo and you realize that the most saught after consumer is the 18-34 year old male. Look at the avg indie fan and they fit that demo. So we’re an incredibly lucrative group to marketers, yet we are inherently hard to sell too. Why is that? Because we hate being sold. We do not like others telling me what I should and shouldn’t own, see, rent, participate in, etc. And even more so, we hate when marketers try and be hip to reach us.
But, it funny with indie in the mainstream, as these commercials get mass exposure not only for the artist behind them, but for the brand. like i mentioned in the article, I am a sucker for these commercials. The Miller lite commercial is great! Yeah, the ad is alright, he’s in beer heaven, good for him. But the song is spot on. and for those of us into good music, it draws you in.
Will I go buy a Miller lite. . .no. but I remember the ad. And ad recall is incredibly difficult in this increasingly oversaturated and over marketed environment of ever segmented media messages.
Do I think anything less of fujiya and Miyagi? Absolutely not. But a point to discuss is whether the brand an artist attaches its name to has an positive or negative influence on the acceptance, continued appreciation, and increasing and/or decreasing band image.
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