Bethany Klein seems to have a bone to pick with Cola corporations. Particularly their pervasiveness in culture, especially music culture. In this week’s reading she outlines the history of cola advertising and music, while also criticising it. My main issue with the reading is that it mostly comes of as Klein complaining about the state of music integration with the Cola, and other big business advertisements. The only solution that is alluded to is the idea of having a watchdog to oversee what music these “greasy”, pervasive corporations can license. However this is only if one considers these corporation’s pervasiveness in culture a bad thing. It’s only negative if you perceive the particular brands as being negative. One would be unlikely to argue against the pervasiveness of a musical brand like The Beatles, unless you didn’t like them. Jack White was able to justify working with Coke on the basis of being a drinker of it, so it is clearly not hard to accept these brands.
The other issue with having some sort of watchdog or limitations, is that it puts “greasy” corporations in a similar bracket as the tobacco industry. And while these corporations are generally unhealthy fast/junk food chains, it is actually the corporate behaviour and business ethics which is affect whether Klein considers them “greasy” or not. Unless a brand or general product is concluded by a government to be dangerous (ala tobacco) then artists should be free to license their music to whomever they want. It is their mistake to make or rather your problem not to have. You don’t have to let it ruin a song if it becomes licensed by a corporation that you don’t like. You may think less of the artist, but still enjoy the song. Something new does not inherently make something pre-existing, or old, worse. Like the fourth Indiana Jones film. Piece of crap. Raiders of the Lost Ark is still one of the best films of the 80s, it didn’t magically get worse retroactively. But you might carry you resentment back with you.
Rock.And.Or.Nazz 