Remember when it was considered a mortal sin for a band to license¬¬¬ their music for use in an advertisement? Those days are long gone. Inevitably, the world evolves and those who refuse to conform to the new standard are left in the dust wondering how they steered wrong. MTV changed everything when it first aired; Napster did the same two decades later; Apple continued the trend with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes. Artists need to keep up with the exponentially changing way that the public gets exposed to their music if they desire to continue being paid to practice their craft. Selling music for use in commercials does not compromise the integrity or artistic value of the musician; additionally, it’s one of the best ways for up-and-coming acts to acquire fans. Gaining traction in the music world can seem daunting and impossible. Can one be blamed for taking an opportunity to reach new listeners? Record sales have plummeted over the last twenty years, MTV—ironically enough—doesn’t play music anymore, and many people use a streaming service in the car;
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The ability to spend extra hours writing, practicing, and perfecting the music—as opposed to working a regular job—enhances the quality of the final product. There are always going to be dissenters; for example, Tom Waits writes, “Artists who take money for ads poison and pervert their songs. It reduces them to the level of a jingle, . . . when you sell your songs for commercials, you are selling your audience as well.” This is a shortsighted mindset for someone who has been in the business since the seventies, especially considering he has allowed his music to appear in many movies. When the actual song is being played on an ad, not some caricature of it, there is no distortion of the bands original message; and they’ve achieved their goal of being
The ability to spend extra hours writing, practicing, and perfecting the music—as opposed to working a regular job—enhances the quality of the final product. There are always going to be dissenters; for example, Tom Waits writes, “Artists who take money for ads poison and pervert their songs. It reduces them to the level of a jingle, . . . when you sell your songs for commercials, you are selling your audience as well.” This is a shortsighted mindset for someone who has been in the business since the seventies, especially considering he has allowed his music to appear in many movies. When the actual song is being played on an ad, not some caricature of it, there is no distortion of the bands original message; and they’ve achieved their goal of being