Idolator

This kind of shit is about band as job. (We need to make money!) sometimes your job can be art. but very rarely.

Once they don't start writing songs about how they never would have believed they could get 4 bars in a mountainous setting until they decided to switch to Verizon wireless for just $29.95 per month with free texts for life and an annual upgrade option, they can have all the sponsors they can stomach for all I care.

That said, it would take more than great phone advice to get me to listen to the Walkmen.

I'd be willing to wager that a lot of corporate sponsorships actually keep ticket costs (slightly) down. And, as someone who goes to 100+ concerts a year, it has never bothered me. The only time it does is when someone besides a fan club member gets first crack at tickets (American Express pre-sale? come on...)

The Walkmen aside(terrible band, even worse live actually) who cares what sponsor's are at a show? The only time I've ever been irritated by a sponsor is at those cigarette sponsored shows where they try to get your email address for a shitty lighter. If Verizon Wireless and Rock Band want to sponsor a show by a band I like, who cares? Like Lax Danja House said above, if they're doing the songs you love and not creating pandering, sponsor manipulated product, who cares? And in the case of those Nike Mixes by LCD Soundsystem and A-Trak, even that argument doesn't hold much water either.

To be fair, at Lollapalooza, I discovered a new start-up company called AT&T. I had never heard of them before, but apparently they make devices that aloow people in two different locations to converse with each other. I'm glad I found that out...

ugh. I'm really surprised this doesn't make people sick. (n.b. before you call me old, I'm admitting to it)

i don't really get how their presence really changes anything. if you don't want to buy a toyota or a verizon phone, then don't. keep walking. don't take their silk-screened shirts. people in new york would always complain all over the messageboards about, i don't know... Helio's presence at the FREE pool parties. well, in this case, their presence allowed for the shows to be free.

these same guys that you're talking about have been outside of a few venues here in NYC lately too, but i really doubt that Prefuse 73 or Antipop Consortium had a damn thing to do with it when they were on the sidewalk outside of Hiro.

@2ironic4u: I agree 100%. Generally it doesn't bother me at all and, for better or worse, it's just part of the infrastructure of mid-size concerts these days.

Building on your AmEx example, though, I will say that one thing that bugs me are corporate-sponsored "secret" shows or shows where you have to jump through a ginormous amout of product-placement/corporate website hoops to get tickets, even if free. I recall Spoon doing a bunch of Jack Daniels-sponsored shows a year or two ago that were like that. While nothing is truly all that "secret" these days, I don't want to have to sign up for the mailing list or myspace of every band i'm interested in (let alone the mailing list of whatever company is sponsoring them) to make sure I know when they're playing.

Just coming to work, I pass billboards on the street on the way to a bus with an ad on the side, which takes me to a subway platform covered in ads where I wait for a train that is overflowing with ads and deposits me about 100 yards from my office door. During this walk, I pass people giving out free copies of the Daily News, people offering to pray for me, even this one really enthusiastic woman who is deeply concerned about my foot pain.

So, a few ads outside a concert? No, this does not stress me out.

Walkmen are a funny example because they are a bunch of prep school rich boys. Seems like all the money they're losing due to file sharing would hardly begin a drain on the ol trust fund. Nice guys though.

Meh. As long as I don't have to see that god awful Katy Perry bus parked outside the Doug Fir again I'm cool.

@thearcanemodel: Yeah, that is kind of annoying but could be one of those things bands do to make up for not selling records in the digital age. Maybe doing 1-2 of those shows can pay a good percent of production/crew costs for your upcoming tour while keeping ticket prices down at the same time.

I {Disney} genuinely love the Jonas Brothers so {Go Green with GM!} obviously I have learned {Verizon} to look past these things {Burgerr King Apple Fries}.

as a fellow guest list getting on wanker, i usually don't pass judgement on bands for trying to make a buck, or get all self-righteous about my non-existant financial role in supporting the scene.

be happy that the music you enjoy doesn't suck (much more than anything else).

that's all you get in 2000+ music.

everything is sponsored by something.

there is no art without commerce.

sorry to burst your bubble, Portland.

put the joint and hacky sack down and get a job;).