Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Music news Booze II Men
Posted by Ben Westhoff on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Gross.
Since nobody can sell a record anymore, now they sell booze.
Music showcases for liquor companies featuring top performers have become all the rage. Whereas, say, a Rolling Stones tour sponsored by Bud has long been common, nowadays one expects to see the Bud tour, featuring the Rolling Stones.
Case in point: Hennessey's Artistry 2009 Series, which came to The Velvet Room on Saturday night, featured Boyz II Men performing "MotownPhilly" et al backed by their high school classmates, The Roots. That's all well and good...until the group members start shamelessly shilling for the product.
What's the big deal? Well, artists are certainly permitted to do promotions, but they're no substitutes for actual concerts. I saw Q-Tip, KRS-One and Common -- who, along with The Roots is the Hennessey series curator -- perform at a Smirnoff event last year. It was pretty whack, very clearly a big payday for this artists, who didn't feel the need to give it their all.
Do the sponsors control the set lists? Are the artists required to sign contracts limiting what they sing, rap or talk about on-stage (or off)? Who knows, but the possibility exists, and that alone is enough to be a turn-off.
Perhaps there is a place for these collaborations; Gentleman Jack's sponsorship of the Atlanta Art, Beats & Lyrics event here in July was probably necessary for its viability. But the next time I see a big rap or R&B show, I'd like to think I'm witnessing more than a glorified booze commercial.
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