The public is a fickle lover. One minute, it’s a blissful romance, and in the next you’re a loathed, lambasted lothario clamoring for acceptance from those who understand you. Alliteration aside, the public has the power to make or break you. They buy your music, come to your shows, and think that deep down, you understand them. You wrote that song for them. Only you can mend their broken heart.
So what happens when you do something that flies in the face of that convention? An aspiring musician named Steve Georgiou wrote some cool songs, but his reputation wasn’t much to sneeze at. Soon though, he changes his name to Cat Stevens, writes a few catchy tunes, and the world is his. Things move along pretty well, and after a nasty bout of tuberculosis and a swimming mishap (ok, I’m compressing …), he converts to Islam. Soon he renounces music, and lives the quiet life.
The story could end here, but like all good rock ‘n’ roll tales, it doesn’t. A couple of decades pass, and the re-named Yusuf Islam decides (after lengthy research…) that music isn’t verboten for Muslims. Good news! And slowly but surely, after his son hands him a guitar, he heads back into the biz.
Most would agree that music is something special, if not sacred. The “soundtrack to your life” is made of a random collection of tunes that make you laugh/cry when you hear the intro. So naturally, someone like Yusuf Islam, in his enlightened life, wouldn’t dare knock his music off the pedestal on which the public has placed it.
Actually, yeah he would. For whatever reason (though my guess is a huge paycheck), Yusuf Islam allowed one of his songs to be used for pawning a cell phone. During the Beatles botched attempt to sell sneakers (thanks to Michael Jackson for that one…), George Harrison remarked, “every Beatles song ever recorded is going to be advertising women”s underwear and sausages. We’ve got to put a stop to it in order to set a precedent. Otherwise it’s going to be a free-for-all. It’s one thing when you’re dead, but we’re still around! They don’t have any respect for the fact that we wrote and recorded those songs, and it was our lives.” In a way Yusuf seems to have no problem criticizing western practices while still managing to cash in on ’em.
And yes, Yusuf Islam allowed the use of his song.
This opens up an entire discussion on branding. Your music is you and you are your brand. So by placing your tune in a cell phone commercial, what does it say about your exposure? Does this commercial cheapen his legacy? How much money makes that ok?
Or maybe a song is just a song …
With regard to branding, I think we need to look @ who he’s trying to appeal to. Is that commercial appealing to the same audience that adored Cat Stevens? Probably not. He’s not the “Cat Stevens” brand anymore; he’s Yusaf Islam. Which arguably means he’s not damaging the Cat Stevens brand (although that depends on whether you view them as one in the same). But, as you mention in between the lines, this move doesn’t seem to gel w/ that brand, either. Maybe he’s going through a rebranding process (har. har.) Does this mean his choice helped the idea that he has integrity (music or otherwise)? Maybe not. But maybe that’s not what he’s concerned about anymore. Just a few random thoughts…