UPDATE: Oct. 28,Pihit 2020, 12:26 p.m. EDT The video was removed following the doxxing of the Michigan nightclub owner featured in the original spot.
For the first time ever, the Beastie Boys have allowedone of their songs to be used in an ad. And it's a Joe Biden ad.
The Beastie Boys' 1994 hit, “Sabotage,” made its “commercial” debut duringtelevised NFL games on Sunday. It's a fitting accompaniment for an ad aimed at shining a light on the devastating impact the pandemic has had on live performance and the venues that's support them.
Called “The Blind Pig,” the Biden spot features Joe Malcoun, co-owner of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based music venue that the ad is named for, talking about his experience in 2020 so far.
“For 50 years, the Blind Pig has been open and crowded, but right now, it’s an empty room,” Malcoun explains. “This is the reality of Trump’s Covid response. We don’t know how much longer we can survive without any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this.”
“This is Donald Trump’s economy,” he continues. “There is no plan and you don’t know how to go forward.”
The ad works, and has drawn the attention of even the advertising-averse Beastie Boys, because Malcoun is one of many in the same situation. The entire live entertainment industry has been struggling since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in March.
Music venues, theaters, concerts, comedy clubs, dancehalls, and other venues have been shut for more than six months in the U.S. While many restaurants have been able to open with limited capacity during the pandemic, it's near impossible for these venues to do the same while respecting social distancing and ordinances banning events with large groups.
It’s become clear that venues holding live events will be among the last places to reopen. They likely won’t be back to hosting stage performances and live music until after there’s a vaccine. Broadway shows have already been canceleduntil at least May 2021.
Yet there has been no bailout focusing specifically on helping those working in live entertainment in the U.S., and grassroots efforts only go so far. By contrast, in the UK, a more than a billion pound relief packagehas been set aside for the arts industries.
Some musicians, stage performers, and other artists have been ableto monetize their work on the internet. However, many others have not. Live music venues have stayed shuttered. On top of that, stagehands, roadies, and other live production workerswhose profession can’t transition to remote work have been unemployed for months.
Unfortunately, the issue has been largely ignored by many politicians in the U.S. and the situation for live entertainment is looking grim. Billboardhas kept track of the many live venues that have closed during the coronavirus pandemic. A surveyreleased during the summer estimated that 90 percent of live music venues and clubs could eventually close due to COVID-19.
So, when a major U.S. presidential candidate wants to air a political campaign ad on television to highlight the struggles of the live entertainment business, it seems like the perfect opportunity for the Beastie Boys to break their streak and license a song for the cause.
Topics Music Joe Biden Politics COVID-19
Trump says he represents Pittsburgh, not Paris, but, um, well...
Videos show Tesla robotaxis appearing to violate traffic laws
WeChat Pay now accepts foreign credit cards for payment in China · TechNode
China extends EV tax exemption until end of 2027 · TechNode
Trump says he represents Pittsburgh, not Paris, but, um, well...
Douyin restructures lifestyle services business to compete with Meituan: report · TechNode
China extends EV tax exemption until end of 2027 · TechNode
Bilibili offers selective testing of AI Search Assistant to users · TechNode
Report: Match Group dating apps conceal assault cases
BYD's Atto 3 becomes first Chinese EV to receive Japan’s governmental grant · TechNode
The Best CPU & GPU Purchases of 2017
Indian phone market settles in Q2 with four Chinese brands near the top · TechNode
Meituan invests in Chinese large language model company Zhipu AI · TechNode
Top executives from OPPO’s chip unit join autonomous driving company Momenta · TechNode
GPU Pricing Update, Year in Review: Price Trends Charted
Huawei plans a 5G smartphone comeback by the end of 2023 · TechNode
Chinese chip startup Biren plans Hong Kong IPO this year · TechNode
How NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won over the internet
The Portable Workstation: Dell XPS 13 + 32 UltraSharp 4K Monitor
Automaker Smart plans to raise $250
Stop what you're doing and look at these 23 adorable giant panda cubs'The Lego Movie 2' is no 'The Lego Movie': ReviewJames Corden silenced Kim Kardashian West haters with one tweet'Metroid Prime 4' development restarts after two yearsDonald Trump and 'Playboy': A lengthy historyHarvey Weinstein documentary 'Untouchable' hits Sundance: ReviewAirPods 2 launching in first half of 2019 with rumored health monitoring features: reportCongratulations to Taylor Swift, whose friend, Blake Lively, had a babyElon Musk’s billions have made it to Burning Man and beyondCasio’s new GThe ongoing mystery of the ocean's towering rogue wavesAirPods 2 launching in first half of 2019 with rumored health monitoring features: reportDonald Trump and 'Playboy': A lengthy historyWe really need a new word for bingeStop what you're doing and look at these 23 adorable giant panda cubsXiaomi's folding phone really exists, and it looks amazingWhy we binge'The Magicians' is back, it's weird, and it's better than everAirPods 2 could have handsPlanned Parenthood launches a new sexual health chatbot for teens Sonos launches Era 300 speaker with support for Spatial Audio 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for March 5 'Daisy Jones and the Six' review: Can this fictional band be your next musical obsession? You simply have to see Kumail Nanjiani's dad's socks Nancy Pelosi steals the show and rips up Trump's State of the Union speech 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' props charity auction raised over $500,000 Here are the winners of Crunchyroll's 2023 Anime Awards OpenAI is making ChatGPT and Whisper available to third Police are using Facebook chat logs to prosecute abortion seekers Snapchat My AI: How it works Apple's yellow iPhone 14 is like holding sunshine in your hand Meta will amend its elitist cross Salesforce announces ChatGPT for Slack Pedro Pascal narrated an audiobook if you want 8 straight hours of his voice 'The Last of Us' star Bella Ramsey's tweet about Pedro Pascal is peak adorable These custom masks may not beat Face ID, but they could do some good Photo of Trump's shockingly orange face launches a thousand memes Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for March 5 Elon Musk apologizes to Haraldur Thorleifsson, the Twitter designer he publicly mocked Bernie Sanders asking for your support is a meme for the entire campaign season