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Wilco defends Volkswagen marketing deal
Under pressure from fans to explain Volkswagen's use of songs from its new album, "Sky Blue Sky," in its car ads, Wilco has issued a defense of the partnership.
"With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco), we see this as another way to get the music out there," the band said in a statement posted at its website. "As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."
The announcement follows a general murmur of discontentment on the Internet and specifically on the discussion forums at Wilco's own website, as the band's fans and others react to the German automaker's series of TV ads featuring songs from "Sky Blue Sky." The controversy also prompted a reaction from frontman Jeff Tweedy's brother-in-law, Danny Miller, on his blog.
"Granted, I can't claim total objectivity here, but I have never met anyone who is less cynical about his art or less of a sellout than Jeff Tweedy," Miller wrote. "While I can imagine myself selling out in a heartbeat ..., Jeff is completely committed to his music and will not bend to the whims of his corporate sponsors. Anyone who saw the excellent Sam Jones documentary about Wilco, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” knows how far Jeff is willing to go to protect his vision."
So far, a pair of Wilco songs, "You Are My Face" and the "Sky Blue Sky" bonus track "The Thanks I Get," have been used in Volkswagen's ad campaigns, with an additional three or four still to be used, according to the band.
The group also corrected a misstatement in a VW press release, which claimed that the Wilco-Volkswagen partnership was the first-ever licensing deal for the band.
"If you're keeping track, this is not the first time Wilco has licensed a song to or even been involved in a commercial--most recently a TV spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain used a Wilco song and some years prior Jeff Tweedy appeared in a campaign for Apple Computer," the band said. "Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide ... from festival-only indie films to major motion pictures and weekly TV shows."
The Chicago band is currently preparing for the US leg of its tour behind "Sky Blue Sky," which hit stores May 15. The tour kicks off June 13 in Davenport, IA, and will stop in 14 cities through the end of the month, with sadcore trio Low handling opening duties for all dates except Wilco's June 17 appearance at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN. The band's complete US itinerary is included below.
