Corporate Rock Still Sucks... But How About Corporate Sponsorship?

In Decibel Magazine #78 there is an interview with Trap Them where vocalist Ryan McKenney is quoted (and even pull-quoted) defending his controversial blog remarks at MetalSucks.com supporting our corporate overlords and their interest in supporting his band financially. Actually, more than half of the interview is about how a corporation allowed his band to get on the road, bigger tours, putting them on an annual fest in America.

The corporation responsible is of course Scion. I have no idea who was mistakenly hired at Toyota who thinks that sponsoring black metal, noise, death metal and aggressive indie bands - many of whom have practically zero chance of garnering any mainstream acceptance beyond the niches that they dwell - but the fact is that Toyota is just one corporate entity of many spending untold millions of dollars to convince crusties that they should drive their car.

I am not a marketing overlord, but I can only assume that these corporations feel that spending money to put Trap Them on the road (or whomever) is a pittance when you compare it to how much it would cost to get, say, Lady Gaga to pitch your product, or buy a single Super Bowl commercial. And added up, you get the attention of a lot of miscreants who will presumably one day get a haircut and a real job with a commute that would be much easier in a safe, economic car that still allows for personal identity.

But I don't care about their motivations or intelligence or likelihood of success; I do care about how the music I love and the people who create it are affected.

There are negatives about this as well, such as when the band Nachtmystium was tossed off the Scion Fest bill a couple years ago for being very loosely associated with the NSBM scene. The band decrfied and denied but that didn't change anything. And really, if a band has a song with sketchy lyrics set for the next album, but worries that it will get in the way with some kind of sponsorship, that's pretty shitty.

And of course I was told to never trust corporate interests, as they run counter to my own. In today's political climate, I tend to agree even if I am not as paranoid or vocal about it as when I was young.

That said, in an age where nobody buys recorded music and it costs more and more just to gas up the van a band needs to get into, if a corporate sponsorship helps out an indie musician make more of a living off their art (something I never had a problem with, even when I was young) and especially if that subsidy is the difference between the band making a great album and playing a great show in my city or not, I have trouble telling a band they shouldn't partake.

So consider this the corporate sponsorsip: clasic or dud thread...

I would never do it, but that's just me. other bands have different priorities.

Why not?

Dunno...given that corporate sponsorship isn't displacing any more reliable source of income it's not clear that it's a malign influence. Sure if a band hooks up with Monsanto or whoever this may alienate some of their fans, but it's the band's choice.

I have no problem with this generally as long as its not obnoxious like dropping a product's name in your lyrics. The same guys that complain about this are the same guys that pirate the tunes. These guys gotta get paid somehow.

i'm in favor of any sponsorship that makes the sponsor look stupid, but most of them make the band look stupid, but sometimes they are stupid to begin with, so there's no downside there. that does sort of create perverse incentives for more money going to stupid bands, though. maybe the way around it is to create a non-monetary economy?

like carvel gave patton oswalt some lifetime ice cream pass -- that seems less tacky than cash, and really only benefits him if he genuinely likes their ice cream.

That's harder for a car though. If I sell the car they gave me, I still make a few bucks. Hard to stand outside Carvel and ask strangers to let me sell them their ice cream.

That said, I would buy Carvel from Patton Oswalt even if he didn't offer me a discount.

Maybe they could secure the car so that the ignition wouldn't work unless you tap out a unique blastbeat on the steering wheel.

I have no problem with this generally as long as its not obnoxious like dropping a product's name in your lyrics. The same guys that complain about this are the same guys that pirate the tunes. These guys gotta get paid somehow.

agree -- if it means exposure for a bunch of great bands, why not? and it's worth pointing out that it's not Trap Them hawking Scion cars on TV or anything, it's Scion putting some bucks behind a big metal tour and helping get lots of folks on the road. so, why not? the bands benefit from the package tour, Scion gets its product out, and the bands aren't compromising their music in the process

for the record, i've not attended a Scion metal roadshow or whatever, but would if it came to my town. and i don't own a Scion. test drove one, though, a couple years ago... went with a Mazda instead ;)

scion did gang of amazing rap shows that were free

With rap, it seems like you'd get a lot more bang for your sponsorship buck - rappers throw around brand names to an absurd degree, but we can't even get Cannibal Corpse to tell us what brand of knife they fucked that girl with.

"Scion gets its product out, and the bands aren't compromising their music in the process"

I'm not a real stickler for bands not compromising their music (especially if compromising their music makes it better), but especially with more specialized strains of metal, or any genre that is particularly close-knit and used to self-support, something like a car company coming in and throwing big money around tends to change the dynamics, like those families that are doing OK, but then they win the lotto and everything goes to shit. That said, maybe some scenes deserve to be destroyed through pernicious corporate sponsorship!

I would never do it, but that's just me. other bands have different priorities.

― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, March 31, 2011 6:17 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Why not?

― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Thursday, March 31, 2011 6:18 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

mostly because I don't need the money, and I prefer to pursue an aesthetic that doesn't involve product placement. I don't really go to shows that have huge corporate sponsors cuz I see enough logos/ads in my daily life and I prefer to experience music in an aesthetic environment that's free of that stuff. Plus in general I hate advertising/marketing and the people the industry tends to attract, so the less I have to interact with them the better.

like have you ever had to deal with advertising reps, these people are scum of the earth.

They're cool dudes – they always buy me drinks.

I'm not a real stickler for bands not compromising their music (especially if compromising their music makes it better), but especially with more specialized strains of metal, or any genre that is particularly close-knit and used to self-support, something like a car company coming in and throwing big money around tends to change the dynamics, like those families that are doing OK, but then they win the lotto and everything goes to shit. That said, maybe some scenes deserve to be destroyed through pernicious corporate sponsorship!

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, March 31, 2011 3:34 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark

what? metal is like the most self-policing genre of music. i've been to shows on a couple of scion-sponsored metal tours and their presence is so strange and unobtrusive, i really don't understand why they're bothering.

something like a car company coming in and throwing big money around tends to change the dynamics

you mean like Scion funding a metal tour that allows bands to get on the road together and actually tour, when otherwise they may not have had the $$ to do so? i'd say that's changing things for the better!

feel like this is a hard game for music doodz to play but if they can play it, why not? seems like you gotta be 100% honest with yourself about what you're in it for and go from there.

"you mean like Scion funding a metal tour that allows bands to get on the road together and actually tour, when otherwise they may not have had the $$ to do so? i'd say that's changing things for the better!"

A tour that only exists by the grace of Scion already puts such a thing in a precarious position. That would be awesome if Tea Parties were only possible because of corporate sponsors. A sudden change of heart by a Toyota marketing exec and POOF! we never have to hear from Sarah Palin again.