Buy a slogan-printed T-shirt, get the song whose lyric it’s emblazoned with as a free download with it? Eh, you know, why not: Universal Music Group and the Wal-Mart-owned UK supermarket chain Asda are teaming up on such a promotion, with four shirts featuring lyrics from Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild,” Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town,” the Cure’s “Lovecats,” and, uh, a Hard-Fi song. (NB: The shirt at left is not in the promotion, it’s just something I found while searching on “lovecats shirt.” There were a lot of shirts with similar sentiments!) Given peoples’ willingness to buy shirts that say anything on them, I can see this actually working in an “opening up songs to new audiences” way, provided that the featured lyrics are stoopid enough. [Music Radar]
I’d like to see this expanded far more. There are plenty of lyrics I’d love to get on a shirts (most of them Manic Street Preachers ones) and have that money go to support the artist. I personally don’t really care about the download as much, since any song I want to wear the lyrics of I’ve already bought the album.
Are there people out there who would buy a Thin Lizzy shirt without already owning The Boys Are Back In Town on various media? Also, why does The Boys Are Back In Town get all the love when Emerald is five thousand times better?
@PengIn: well, it’s a lyric from the song. never underestimate the power of a stupid slogan on a t-shirt. (frankie say relax? choose life?)
test.
@Maura: Yeah, I guess I don’t find the lyric shirt idea patently ridiculous, but like revmatty before me, I think the download bundle is superfluous.
Also, based on your examples, you apparently think that like technology, fashion is cyclical.
@PengIn: I believe the manufacturer, not Maura, chose the four shirts to produce.
@revmatty: actually i wouldn’t be surprised if it was universal that did the picking.