Yesterday, on Youtube, I watched Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson deliver his keynote speech at the IBM Smarter Business 2012 convent in Stockholm, Sweden. The subjects of the day were creativity and entrepreneurship, and - lo and behold - the close connection between the world of music and the world of business. And, it did not take long before Mr. Dickinson was referring to Iron Maiden's fans as customers.
Long gone are the days when phrases like "They ain't got a thing on me, I'm running wild, I'm running free yeah" at least rang reasonably true. Today, Iron Maiden are as closely intertwined with the western power sphere as any multinational corporation, and they are as much agents of capitalist expansion and part of British foreign policy as any politician or businessman.
On their recently released live DVD, En Vivo, in between songs, Mr. Dickinson offers the South American audience to be part of one big happy Iron Maiden family, transcending politics as well as religion. But of course, what he and his companions are offering is neither unpolitical, neither very new, it's just good old fashioned western cultural imperialism, presented in a soft power package, signed, sealed and delivered 10 Downing Street with allies.
3 comments:
But isnt that the result of filesharing? Band have to make other ways to make money, selling records isnt enough. /MRD
File sharing is part of the equation, but who says you can't grab the opportunity and make some propaganda at the same time? And for that matter, Iron Maiden were highly political long before file sharing was known, just grab copy of Behind the Iron Curtain from 1984.
I hear you, but its all about the money. Iron Maiden, Ac/Dc and Metallica is the big boys, all of them sold their soul to highest bidder. All other bands that not sold themselves plays att small clubs and diners. Its sad, buts the time we live in.
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