Um, Neil? Mr. ‘This note’s for you’? I’ve got some notes for you.
You took the money, right?
Nobody stole it from you. Nobody robbed you of your songs. You sold them, right? You did. Nobody else. You.
Those bank notes are for you. I don’t have them. I didn’t get the money. Did someone else? Presumably, no. You took the money. You sold your publishing.
Did nobody discuss what that meant? Nobody brought up how and under what terms you would be relinquishing the rights to your music? Oh, wait … they did?
So, you wanted to fuck, but you’re upset that someone stole your virginity along the way?
If that’s not the case, then what are we to understand about your Instagram post on the heels of those dastardly bastards of the NFL and Madison Avenue and broadcasters and corporate everywhere with a still photo from your (classic) anti-corporate song & video (that won MTV’s Video of the Year) “This Note’s for You”? It’s commentary, right? You were commenting from, it appears, the same cheap seats as we.
Because you took the money. But your seats are probably nicer than ours. By a lot.
An already rich guy enriched himself immensely by selling his publishing to Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited back in 2020. What did you think was going to happen?
It used to be that artists, including classic rock artists, would be pilloried for selling out. Some made a big deal about it. Some even wrote songs about it. Can you imagine? How hypocritical would it be for someone who, for instance, railed against corporate sponsorship, wrote a top-selling (already ironic) song about it, won a prestigious (maybe) award for its scathing & humorous video … and then same said artist not only later sells out half of his publishing rights for a (rightful) fortune, but then pouts about it — when that material gets used for exactly what it was purchased for?
I don’t want to make you look like a joke, Neil, but this note’s for you. You did that.
By the way, the song, “Old Man,” is awesome. A rightful classic. Haunting, timeless. You wrote it and sent it out into the world. Thank you for that. Very, very much. I’m sure you made a lot of money off of “Old Man” over the years and rightfully so. You certainly enriched others with that song, monetarily and otherwise.
And that’s my next point: You put it out there. It’s now ours. That is the deal. When we experience music we love we interact with it in a deeply personal way. It means whatever it means to you. It also means whatever it means to me and to everyone else that embraces it or even just bumps up against it. Because you released it. It’s out. You can absolutely hold onto what you imagine it means to you in absolute surety. But we’re not you. We are the gift recipients. It means different things to me than it does to you. And that’s fair.
I love the song. Many millions of people love the song too, including Beck (one safely assumes). He’s got a right to perform it, record it and pay the royalties and reap possible rewards for his performance. If Hipgnosis agreed, because you agreed to sell them that power, then it’s all fair.
And did I cringe at the use of that song in that way to promo a football game? Yes. And I’m a big NFL fan (it’s too late to not be, I’ve tried). But I’m no fan of cringy anything. And that was cringy. But hey, I didn’t get a choice in the matter. I tuned in to the NFL game the Beck promo showed up on, so that’s on me. But you sold the rights. This was bound to happen. Hipgnosis is going to use their expensive asset. You did that. Not us.
So what was your point, Neil? Did you need someone to be reminded that you’re anti-corporate? I hope to hell not. Because you sold your rights. You sold them. To a big fucking corporation.
If you are in charge of your own Instagram account, then you might want to pass this note along to you: You should sit this one out. If this was some intern’s mistake, then you definitely want to pass this note along to your social media intern the next time you bump into each other at the water cooler: “Don’t point out what a hypocrite I am.”
