Just a quick note that kind of follows along my earlier uniform sponsorship diatribe. You rarely notice, but celebrities have a number of sneaky ways to quietly generate revenue off the corporate world. One effective strategy is doing advertisements in Japan. For more on this, see the truly-awesome Japander.com (check out Natalie Portman’s beautiful hair).
Another way is for musicians to play corporate events. You’ll never hear Sheryl Crow say in an interview, “yeah, we just played the Siebel User Conference and that show totally rocked”, but she’s not going to turn down easy coin. Major acts play these events all the time (I recall stories of Iona‘s CEO jamming onstage with Spinal Tap), but they rarely talk about them. It seems so ingenuine for all involved. I’d feel kind of awkward if I watched some genuine rock act (Spinal Tap notwithstanding) going through the motions at a corporate event. Neil Young sums things up nicely:
Ain’t singin’ for Pepsi
Ain’t singin’ for Coke
I don’t sing for nobody
Makes me look like a joke
This note’s for you.
DarrenBarefoot.com 