News

Backlash Begins for Wilco's Volkswagen Campaign

You won't see a lot of Volkswagens parked at the next Wilco concert. The alt-country band's fans are protesting Jeff Tweedy's decision to license songs from the band's newly released Sky Blue Sky for a series of six TV ads promoting the car brand. The comments on message boards and blogs have been so hateful and angry that Wilco felt no choice but to respond.

"This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement," the band wrote on the official Wilco website. "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. 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."

Moreover, the post continued, "Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide." We think music fans need to seriously calm down. After all, how are musicians supposed to make money and support their families when downloading is a common problem?

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
06.06.07