Selling Out is So Early 2000s

I have to say I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this tidbit: the French Kicks and the Phoenix are on a U.S. tour right now sponsored by Camel. The cigarettes.

Now, surprisingly, I can actually apply my nonprofit experience to this situation. See, I help sell corporate sponsorships of the nonprofit I work for -- mostly banks, pharmaceutical companies, mortgage companies, y'know -- the sexy stuff. But we also actively invite funding from a number of corporations that aren't perfect (alcohol, for one), 'cause someone has to pay the bills, and most people are savvy enough to understand that whether it's in the nonprofit or the music world, corporate sponsorships are a marketing affiliation and don't connote creative/programmatic control over the sponsee.

So you gotta pay the bills somehow, right? It's just advertising, right? It's not as if the music industry tries to take the same sort of moral highground that tax-exempt charities do?

Well, once you get past the logistical issues of obtaining tickets from Camel, well noted here, you're still left with two bands that are making a boldly stupid PR move. A good rule to follow is: if your sponsorship will ever give anyone an easy chance to question or mock your motives or reputation, there's always more money elsewhere.

And it shouldn't take an entertainment lawyer to figure out that a cigarette sponsorship is great fodder for a piece like this.