Volkswagon announced today that they have licensed the entire contents of the new Wilco CD, Sky Blue Sky. They claim that this is, “the first time anyone has ever used one album as a soundtrack for an entire TV campaign.” Congrats. I’m hard pressed to think of an example that puts that little fact into question, although let us bow (once again) before Moby for having licensed the entire contents of Play to various and sundry ad campaigns, films and so on.

Wilco’s reasoning is great. Among other things, they say:

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 [other opportunities e.g. “movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement”] (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them.

He’s right, that is Jeff Tweedy or whoever the voice of Wilco is these days, is right. It’s hard, and it’s getting harder. Note the post I published last night about what Clear Channel is doing with Indie artists: airplay in exchange for waiving their royalties. The Future of Music Coalition is spending the week blogging about this very topic.

Note, also, that July 15 is right around the corner. This is being billed (cliche though it is) as the day that music will die. Internet radio will suffer from newly imposed royalty rates that, well, don’t really help anyone, and are guaranteed to shut down countless Internet radio stations. Pitchfork has a nice overview of this tragedy.

So, congrats to Wilco – it’s a great accomplishment, and it makes me want to run out and buy the new CD. Oddly, it doesn’t make me want to buy a VW, but that has more to do with a move towards a minivan that’s happening in my house than anything else. And way to go Moby for being something of a pioneer in the music industry/advertising intersection. And way to go Future of Music Coalition for talking about Clear Channel, and Pitchfork about Internet Radio.

Let’s all hope for the best.

Rick McLaughlin