Selling Rock Art for a buck.....or not.
Doors and SUVs - written in December 2005 (he is still holding out to my knowledge).
This time around I am going to explore the relationship between a rock drummer and a luxury car company. Sound like fun? Then read on.
What are they thinking over at the Cadillac division of General Motors? I am sure all of you are aware of the fact that GM is in a world of financial hurt. So can anybody tell me why on earth Cadillac wants to pay the three living members of the Doors 15 million bucks for the use of one of their songs: Break on Through (To the Other Side)?
A small article about this caught my attention because Doors drummer John Densmore said, “No” to that offer and to other offers including 4 million from Apple Computers for the use of another popular Doors song. Densmore could make more money for signing a few agreements to license songs than many small countries gross in a year, but he is holding out against the temptation to rent out what he describes as the “mysterious and magic” music he and his band mates created. He related that he once agreed to let Pirelli tires use a song and that he felt “physically ill” when he heard the ad and he immediately donated all the money he made from the deal to a charity.
I have never been a huge fan of the Doors, but my reaction to Densmore’s position was that he pretty much impressed my socks off. In this day and age to say “No thank you” to 5 million dollars because of artistic integrity boggles the mind. More power to you, Mr. Densmore.
Initially I was just going to write about the impact this guy had on me and how much I admired his integrity. You might think he is crazy for turning down the money, but you have got to give him bonus points for sticking to his guns. Then I thought a little deeper about the subject matter. Hmmm, Cadillac offered 15 million to use one song to advertise their line of SUVs.
Think about that please. Cadillac is just one division of GM and SUVs are just one product of this one division and yet someone was authorized to spend up to 15 million dollars FOR THE USE OF ONE SONG. Bear in mind that this is just for the rights to use the song – it in no way includes the creative effort for writing and producing commercials which use the song OR the advertising dollars spent to bring the commercial with the song to our eyes and ears via TV and radio.
In a good year, GM would like to sell a total of 500,000 SUVs from all of their divisions combined. Just for the sake of argument, (and easy math) let us pretend that 10% of those 500,000 vehicles are Cadillac SUVs. That would mean fifty thousand vehicles. If they paid 15 million for the song – just the rights to the song would add $300.00 to the cost of each one of the SUVs.
Three hundred bucks to the cost of each one just to use a song, never mind the extra money to produce and play the song? What the hell is going on? Who dreamed up that lulu of expenditure?
Is it any wonder the corporation that was once the most powerful on earth is in big trouble? Give me a break. GM likes to whine about labor and healthcare costs which are a legitimate concern, but the willingness to spend money like this is beyond the pale.
This time around I am going to explore the relationship between a rock drummer and a luxury car company. Sound like fun? Then read on.
What are they thinking over at the Cadillac division of General Motors? I am sure all of you are aware of the fact that GM is in a world of financial hurt. So can anybody tell me why on earth Cadillac wants to pay the three living members of the Doors 15 million bucks for the use of one of their songs: Break on Through (To the Other Side)?
A small article about this caught my attention because Doors drummer John Densmore said, “No” to that offer and to other offers including 4 million from Apple Computers for the use of another popular Doors song. Densmore could make more money for signing a few agreements to license songs than many small countries gross in a year, but he is holding out against the temptation to rent out what he describes as the “mysterious and magic” music he and his band mates created. He related that he once agreed to let Pirelli tires use a song and that he felt “physically ill” when he heard the ad and he immediately donated all the money he made from the deal to a charity.
I have never been a huge fan of the Doors, but my reaction to Densmore’s position was that he pretty much impressed my socks off. In this day and age to say “No thank you” to 5 million dollars because of artistic integrity boggles the mind. More power to you, Mr. Densmore.
Initially I was just going to write about the impact this guy had on me and how much I admired his integrity. You might think he is crazy for turning down the money, but you have got to give him bonus points for sticking to his guns. Then I thought a little deeper about the subject matter. Hmmm, Cadillac offered 15 million to use one song to advertise their line of SUVs.
Think about that please. Cadillac is just one division of GM and SUVs are just one product of this one division and yet someone was authorized to spend up to 15 million dollars FOR THE USE OF ONE SONG. Bear in mind that this is just for the rights to use the song – it in no way includes the creative effort for writing and producing commercials which use the song OR the advertising dollars spent to bring the commercial with the song to our eyes and ears via TV and radio.
In a good year, GM would like to sell a total of 500,000 SUVs from all of their divisions combined. Just for the sake of argument, (and easy math) let us pretend that 10% of those 500,000 vehicles are Cadillac SUVs. That would mean fifty thousand vehicles. If they paid 15 million for the song – just the rights to the song would add $300.00 to the cost of each one of the SUVs.
Three hundred bucks to the cost of each one just to use a song, never mind the extra money to produce and play the song? What the hell is going on? Who dreamed up that lulu of expenditure?
Is it any wonder the corporation that was once the most powerful on earth is in big trouble? Give me a break. GM likes to whine about labor and healthcare costs which are a legitimate concern, but the willingness to spend money like this is beyond the pale.
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