Ex-Cops is an indie duo consisting of Amalie Bruun and Brian Harding (we reviewed em uring the CGBGs fest), who has managed to get Ariel Pink and Billy Corgan involved on their last album ‘Daggers’, as a matter of fact Corgan is even a co-writer and executive producer! Recently, they were asked to play the McDonald’s Showcase at the annual South by Southwest.
However they got mad at the big corporation, complaining that McDonald’s were not ready to pay them as they explained in a long letter on Facebook,
‘Getting past that rhetoric, at the very least a big corporation like McDonald’s can at least pay their talent a little. Right?’ wrote Ex-Cops’ Brian Harding. They were told that ‘There isn’t a budget for an artist fee (unfortunately)’. ‘As of 2013, McDonalds is valued at 90.3 billion dollars.’ he continued. ’It is a horrifying and gross reality when one sees the true nature of corporations and their pathetic attempts to achieve relevance with millennials. Doritos received a lot of flack for their stage a couple years ago, but i’m going to assume they paid Lady Gaga.’
McDonald’s, whose first argument was that this was ‘a great opportunity for additional exposure,’ responded to the indie band when asked by Rolling Stone:
‘We follow the same standard protocol as other brands and sponsors by inviting talented and emerging musicians to join us at the SXSW Festival, said McDonald’s Global Media Relations Director Becca Hary. ‘We look forward to serving McDonald’s food, drinks and fun in Austin. #slownewsday’
To which Ex-Cops reacted:
‘That’s not true,’ said singer Amalie Bruun, ‘They’re not following any guidelines because everyone else is offering money. They’ll have to take that up with South by Southwest if they think they’re following the guidelines…Other, much smaller corporations are offering us money.’
‘It’s gross,’ added Harding. ‘It’s a perfect example of an archaic company trying to be hip by putting a hashtag at the end of an e-mail.’
‘The people that have been supporting the music industry lately understand that we don’t make money off albums anymore, and that’s why you see so much merchandise and bands tour all the time. It’s our only kinds of income. If we’re not going to get paid for our live shows, what are we going to get paid for?’ added the duo.
So is exposure a valuable income? This is what McDonald’s was offering, but it is sure a shame when you look at the big corporation’s big money. The large fast food chain was also offering free food, presumably some samples of their poisonous burgers and fries, and this sounds like an insult to me!
McDonald’s has much more to gain than any indie band at this game, I can see the appeal for young bands but the corporate takeover that is happening in SXSW is a sign of the times and it’s not a good sign. As if I wasn’t already despising McDonald’s for perpetuating animal abuse and being responsible of the US health crisis… musicians should never go to bed with McDonald’s or Doritos, but, again you are talking about people who already collaborate with Billy Corgan.