McDonald's asked an indie band to play for free at SXSW - here's their incredible response
The band may not be mainstream yet, but they make a decent living off their music.
So when McDonald's reached out to see if they would be interested in playing a showcase at this week's SXSW festival in Austin, without pay, the two were pretty offended.
Brian Harding, one half of Ex Cops, took to Facebook to express why, exactly, he was so bothered by the offer.
"Their selling point was that this was 'a great opportunity for additional exposure,' and that 'McDonald's will have their global digital team on site to meet with the bands, help with cross promotion, etc.," Harding wrote in a lengthy post. "I don't, and doubt that they know what this means either. Getting past that rhetoric, at the very least a big corporation like McDonald's can at least pay their talent a little. Right? 'There isn't a budget for an artist fee (unfortunately).'"
McDonald's, which currently has a net worth of roughly $97 billion, quickly responded with a statement defending its offer:
We follow the same standard protocol as other brands and sponsors by inviting talented and emerging musicians to join us at the SXSW Festival. We look forward to serving McDonald's food, drinks and fun in Austin. #slownewsday
"That's not true," Ex Cops singer Amalie Bruun told Rolling Stone after hearing McDonald's response. "They're not following any guidelines because everyone else is offering money. They'll have to take that up with South by Southwest if they think they're following the guidelines... Other, much smaller corporations are offering us money."
"It's gross," Harding adds. "It's a perfect example of an archaic company trying to be hip by putting a hashtag at the end of an e-mail."
Ex Cops have six showcase appearances scheduled in Austin, including one sponsored by Pandora. "They're paying us," Harding assured the New York Times.
But before the current backlash, the newly appointed McDonald's chief digital officer vowed in December to "improve the SXSW experience for everyone" by providing a McDonald's Lounge filled with McCafé coffee, the "Fry-Fi" food truck, Wi-Fi, charging stations, and televisions streaming various events.
While SXSW attendees may appreciate free food and Wi-Fi, it's not enough to incentivize a band to "fly to Austin, play shows without soundcheck, and get paid nothing to a little," writes Harding in his post.
Check out Harding's full Facebook post below, it's worth a read:
This week our band was asked to play the McDonald's Showcase at the annual South by Southwest, also known to music insiders as "SXSW."
Their selling point was that this was "a great opportunity for additional exposure," and that "McDonald's will have their global digital team on site to meet with the bands, help with cross promotion, etc"
I don't, and doubt that they know what this means either.
Getting past that rhetoric, at the very least a big corporation like McDonald's can at least pay their talent a little. Right?
"There isn't a budget for an artist fee (unfortunately)"
As of 2013, McDonalds is valued at 90.3 billion dollars.
I won't get into the internet semantics of things you've probably seen on your Facebook feed; like that thing where it takes a McDonald's worker 4 months to earn what the CEO makes in an hour, or their GMO love affair, and I will certainly spare you the bounty of photos showing how they treat their animals.
In lieu of being paid like a real artist, or anyone who is employed to do a service, McDonald's assures us that we will "be featured on screens throughout the event, as well as POSSIBLY mentioned on McDonald's social media accounts like Facebook (57MM likes!)"
We recently headlined a show at the Brooklyn venue Baby's Alright. They are by no means a DIY venue, but they are still an independent small business. The owners are people our age who used to book shows at Pianos and busted their asses to open a venue of their own in Brooklyn.
While I haven't asked Billy or Zach how much they make annually (that would be weird) I'm going to guess they're not looking at brownstones in Prospect Park at the moment. Yet when we played, we were paid very very fairly, were provided with drink tickets, and each band member fed a full entree from their menu (try the Brussels sprouts)
I will also go ahead and save time for any schill / troll rebuttals; "Are the other showcases paying you? No one is holding a gun to your head!" This is true. It is our choice (pretty much) to fly to Austin, play shows without soundcheck, and get paid nothing to a little. But hear this loud and clear, we LOVE making music, it is what we do, and despite some of its very apparent flaws, SXSW still provides a decent venue to be heard by some people who are really there to hear new music and not just do blow with dudes who wear square toe loafers.
It is a horrifying and gross reality when one sees the true nature of corporations and their pathetic attempts to achieve relevance with millennials. Doritos received a lot of flack for their stage a couple years ago, but i'm going to assume they paid Lady Gaga.
Oh, I almost forgot; "McDonald's will offer free food to all audience members"
I don't doubt that tons of bands will kowtow to this lame, lame attempt at a rock show. And I'm aware that to achieve any exposure is a Herculean task in 2015, but the Boethian Wheel is a real thing, and this will continue to exist if we, as artists, keep saying yes in exchange for a taste of success. Even if smells like a shitty Fish filet.
The comments on Harding's post have been overwhelmingly in support of the band: