Matt Wells: Coldplay: Selling Out or Simply Promoting?
May 20th, 2008
Yo,
I was in London a couple weeks ago to interview Coldplay in their studio and we got to talking about how the band has never allowed their music to be used in a commercial or used to endorse a product of any kind. Since that time they have worked out a deal for ESPN to use a Coldplay song to promote the EURO 2008 soccer tournament and ESPN will promote the bands new disc in return… not quite a Nike or Apple advertisement so I’ll say for arguments sake that they still have pretty much stuck to their guns so far.
Chris and Jonny told me that at the end of the day they don’t want a song to lose its meaning and be thought of as a commercial and that maybe it (the decision to not sell their music to company in that way) is one of the things that can separate them from being just a popular rock band and perhaps a historic rock band later down the road. (Which I think makes total sense.)
On the other hand, very recently I spoke with Huey Lewis who back in the day was one of the top selling acts of his time. Huey was offered millions to do an ad with one of the big Cola companies and it was a time when it hadn’t been done before so there was no benchmark as to how it might be perceived. Huey actually used to poll the audience at his shows to see what people thought; ultimately, he said no and turned down the money. His vibe was basically this at the time: “If I believe in the product OR I need the money, I’ll do it.” He didn’t need the money, had never did things just for the money, so he said no.
Now… he told me, he wishes he took the money. Not because he needs it or is stuggling… not the case at all… he just can say as a 57-year-old man, who has a family and has lived 20 years of life since that big offer, that it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
I wonder if Coldplay will think that way in 20 years?
werd
=mw
Posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 10:45 am by Matt Wells and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.
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3 Responses to “Matt Wells: Coldplay: Selling Out or Simply Promoting?”
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Damn her straight to hell
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Werd brotha. Fingers crossed she’ll take LC with her.
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If I was Coldplay I’d take the bloody money. I don’t think the big companies tossing those big $$$ deals on the table want to give or take away anything from the band or the song. The main goal is to get people to buy the product and hey, if the monkeys in lab who spend days upon days researching the market say the product will sell with the help of the song, then snag the flow. Your music will be promoted and you’ll get paid.
Even if the product gets crappy consumer reviews, it’s not like you’ll have to take the heat for it.
It’s not like people who hate The Hills turn around and say, “Damn that Natasha Bedingfield broad!”