SnowGhost Music

Things were different when I was a youngster. Sixth graders did not carry cell phones or iPods, gas was under a dollar, a ‘laptop’ referred to a special kind of dance, and if you were discussing product placement, you were most likely asking someone which aisle you could find Coke Classic in. Eddie Murphy was the coolest dude on the planet, fast food was still priding itself on its unhealthiness, and fades and certain varieties of mullets were considered cutting edge hairdos. Something that was certainly not considered cutting edge was any type of selling out. Back then, selling out could even consist of an artist seen drinking a can of Tab onstage. Neil Young wrote an album and a made a video about it that MTV refused to play before eventually awarding it with their video of the year award. Most bands that wanted to retain their cool status would try not to highlight any sponsorship or ever have their music used for product promotion. And thus despite the greatness of Michael Jackson’s hair catching fire and the drunk guy willingness of corporations large and small, the commercialization of music took a long time to catch on.

Of course back then, people actually bought things. Ticket Master was just getting started with fan rape, so people still willingly bought concert tickets to go along with the albums they listened to at home on stereos. Yeah, we made copies of tapes with state of the art high-speed dubbing dual cassette decks that gave us the opportunity to hear a band instantly transformed into Chipmunk speed metal, but record stores were still the source. Bands sold things. Record companies made huge profits, and even put some of it back in the pockets of the bands. They had enough money to take chances on experimental and/or obviously troubled bands, and bands had enough money that they didn’t have to be sponsored by Sunoco to afford filling up the tour van.

So now that most kids have more iPod accoutrements than actual albums, things are remarkably different. People are still forming bands, bands are still playing songs, and probably more people are listening to music now than ever. It’s just really hard to make money from a song, much less an album, without much support, at least initially, from a record label. So if a band wants to be successful, they’ve got to explore all of their options. And while there may not be a whole lot of money around, there are certainly plenty of options.

One of the more recent options is for an artist to sign with a label created by a corporation. Advertising is a revenue stream that seemingly never bothers to trickle, so it’s no surprise that companies like Axe and Mountain Dew have gone as far as developing their own labels to promote new music. One would rightly assume that they are also promoting themselves, but at least it’s with a hint of subtlety. The Cool Kids are the first to release a single exclusively through Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound, which is a free singles-only venture from the people who first brought us a flaming Michael Jackson. The Cool Kids are without major label backing, so it’s not hard to figure why they’d take an opportunity like this to get more exposure and maybe make a little green. Though the song doesn’t have any mention of the product, the art promoting the song appears to have been made with the strict instructions to use only colors found on a case of the moonshine of sodas.

But that’s okay. The corporations, after all, are footing the bills, so it’s understandable that they’re not going to do this without getting at least their team colors involved. And even if the downloaded music is free in this case, bands will still get signing money, plus they get another avenue to drive their music down.

If it sounds like I’m all for it, it’s because I am. I wouldn’t play a show with a forehead-mounted billboard flashing advertisements for products that I would never actually use, but I would gladly accept any kind of sponsorship that could help me with road bills and dealing with booking issues. I would never write a song about my deep affection for Canada Dry ginger ale, but I would gladly put their logo on my van and openly sip from a slowly condensating green glass bottle of greatness during my entire show. I would also mention the importance of brushing your soda-infected teeth with Tom’s of Maine all-natural organic toothpaste if they wanted in on the product placing. Maybe I’d even stomp on giant tubes of Tom’s and squirt off germ-fighting gobs of the stuff while I simultaneously sprayed a recently opened liter of severely shaken soda. But I wouldn’t sing about it, and I wouldn’t let their messages seep into the deep connection I was establishing with my tiny army of fans. Except for maybe a little fluoride in their hair and soda in their eyes.