Ongoing History Daily: Concert sponsorships

January 6, 2023 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

Whenever a band gets a sponsorship for a tour, there are always those who scream “Sellout! How dare a band take corporate money to shill a product when they go on the road?” But this isn’t a new phenomenon.

The first time anyone ever took a sponsorship for a concert tour was back in 1981 when the Rolling Stones sold signage rights to Jovan perfume. They paid the Stones $4 million to advertise their Jovan Musk at all the gigs on the US portion of their tour. They took a lot of flak for it, but it was a hugely successful thing for Jovan. Since then, every single Stones tour has had a sponsor.

Today, many tours have sponsors to help underwrite in the insanely expensive cost of a tour in an era where almost no one is making money from selling music. Even super-punk Warped Tour took on a sponsor with Vans. It’s just how things work these days.

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.

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