When songs appear in commercials, album sales decline. The band members are probably making several million a year just from album sales and radio play.
Where did you get that statistic? Michael Mcdonald's
career got a big boost from his MCI Commercial.
When I did a little digging, I found I was right. A recent article at CNN.com delves into this whole new phenomenon. And as I suspected, it's got both the music industry execs AND the corporate marketing gurus dancing in their imported Italian slip-ons. From the music guys...
And then this..."The media weight of an MCI is much more than a label could give Michael McDonald," said Joel Hoffner of Nashville-based Vector Management, which represents McDonald. "That's really the cornerstone of the marketing plan."
There used to be a time when musicians wouldn't be caught dead selling Jaguars (Sting) or minivans (Celine Dion). Selling their music, let alone appearing in a TV spot was seen as the "big sellout"...Kevin McKiernan of Creative License, the music licensing firm that helped put the two sides together along with MCI's ad agency, said his phone has been ringing off the hook.
"We've been inundated with calls from the record companies since this happened," McKiernan said. "I have top executives calling me saying, 'This is what I want for my artist.' It increased record sales over 200 percent."
Many labels and managers these days are willing to do deals that don't provide an enormous amount of compensation up front if they feel that the arrangement will result in a significant increase in sales and give a music release legs.
Oh the times they are a changing."Bob Dylan for the great taste of Maxwell House Coffee. Watch for his latest album 'Blood On The Tracks,' now in record stores."
November 12 , 2003