Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

With the White Stripes about to do a Pepsi ad. Does it bother anyone that Paul's latest single is on a Lexus ad? For years now the lines between credibility and "selling out" have become increasingly blurred. Personally it still bothers me. But maybe I'm an old fool, from the old school...

For many decades, in Macca's case.

Paul selling Lexuses (Lexi?)...Sting selling Jaguars...Led Zep selling Cadillacs...Stevie Winwood and Phil Collins selling Michelob...Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and now the White Stripes selling Pepsi...

I have a 'product placement' suggestion for each of these 'artists'...

Well, people who make music for a living are in the music business, and business is, unfortunately, about money.

Paul's whole measure of artistic success seems to be tied with 'chart success' and inevitably money, but I have to say, the news about the White Stripes does surprise me.

Chart success is one thing...Pimping is quite another...

I know a lot of people who make music for a living who still hold the deed to their own souls...

Anybody remember when they used singing monkeys to promote Red Rose Tea in the states? Great commercial. Didn't make me buy the tea. I think the whole "Selling out" thing is leftover from the '60s. Macca has made his megabucks, but if he has something to sell and someone's willing to pay him so they can use it to sell something, why not? I don't think it lessens his viability as an an "artiste."

On Macca central he's pitching gig bags or something.

Oh, oh, this trend may send the jingle writers out to pasture

And you can buy an overpriced T shirt at any rock concert, even by bands who never had one-tenth the impact of McCartney. Why begrudge the man his marketing savvy? Jerry Garcia ties. What did they have to do with the Dead's music? If music weren't about marketing, all album covers would look like Spinal Tap's "The Black Album." Ringo Starr was pushing a Visa card on one of his tours. To me, that's a whole lot more perverse than Paul's "selling" a Lexus.

I don't think he is pimping the bags. I think someone snapped a shot of him with it. I hope anyway. I would also hope that he would pimp a RIC before a gig bag. As for Lexus...it makes sense. Most of the people that would buy his album are more likely to buy a Lexus than watch MTV.

As soon as you have a record deal you have sold out (so to speak) to the man! Thank goodness you can release your own tracks on the internet. I see changes ahead...

Jason, you're correct to a point. It depends on how you define "sold out." If you mean accepting pay for what you do, we all "sold out" when we took jobs. If you mean writing songs that people enjoy and will pay to hear, I don't think that's selling out. If you write only what you think people will want to hear and hate playing it, I guess that's selling out. I don't think McCartney or any of the Beatles fall in to that category. If you're lucky enough to love what you do and have people love it, amen, brother (or sister)!

"Robbies Roadcase - Paul Loves it and so will you". And there's Mac holding one. First time I saw it, I was a bit surprised, for I thought Paul was not the endorser type. But it's there (macca-central.com). It's no longer the '60's. Nothing wrong with that. Now, if he'd just whiten his teeth!

The whole arguement about "selling out" is ridiculous.

Anyone that makes a CD wants people to buy it, anyone that plays in a band that plays shows wants people to come. Why bother having a cd to sell, or ever getting a gig? When you try and make music in a public way, you want people to hear it.

So why not a car ad? It's not like an ad for cigarettes or something harmful.

And really, how is this any more "selling out" than having a single, a video, doing loads of interviews and press?

As far as the white stripes doing an ad, good for them! Success is fleeting, so why not make sure you have a retirement?

Robbies Roadcase?

I saw that ad, I just figured Robbie is his nephew or something like that.