Music Industry

How Long Before Weed Companies Sponsor Concerts and Festivals?

Running a tour or festival is expensive, so you need a strong roster of deep-pocketed sponsors to pull it off. Breweries and rock’n’roll have been going hand-in-hand forever and liquor companies (think Jaegermeister) have been stepping up for years. Cigarette companies used to be involved in music–think Du Maurier and jazz festivals–but it’s long been forbidden for them to get into the sponsorship business.Now, though, there may

Now, though, there may a new source of dollars: Corporate weed companies. NOW magazine reports on the new frontier:

Music fans heading to the Front Yard Shindig festival in Smiths Falls to hear Joel Plaskett, theBalconies and Blakdenim won’t be able to toast the bands with a glass of cold beer, but those with valid medical marijuana licenses can partake in their preferred substance in a special vaporizer lounge. This is because the festival is happening on the grounds of the massive Tweed cannabis growing facility, marking the beginning of a whole new era of music festival sponsorship.

“Since we started Tweed, we’ve always thought it was a brand and a company that would look cool sponsoring a concert series,” explains Tweed’s communications director,

Jordan Sinclair. “The idea came up that we have a massive front lawn here, so why not kick it off by doing it ourselves? Hopefully this one goes really well and it can be the first of many.”

Read more here.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37911 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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