ABSTRACT

One of the biggest music stories of 2000 involved the sudden fame of electronic recording artist Moby who, having never achieved commercial radio play or significant record sales with previous releases, found his album Play on the pop charts following the placement of all 18 of its tracks. Snippets turned up in films and television shows, and, for a period of time, in what seemed like every other commercial spot in markets around the world. Play tracks were licensed to Nissan, Rolling Rock, Maxwell House, Volkswagen, Nordstrom, and American Express, among others. The licensing orgy around Play ultimately led to radio airplay that almost certainly would not have been conceivable otherwise, and record sales in the millions. While the case of Volkswagen licensing “Pink Moon” proved advertising capable of reviving the career of a dead folksinger, Moby’s success validated advertising as a launching pad for lesser-known or new musicians in both the independent and major label music worlds, where suddenly licensing became seen as not simply an extra source of revenue, but a way to break an artist.