Are you a fan of Pearl Jam? Are you a baseball die-hard? Looks like 2013 is your year. The Seattle band has signed a partnership with Fox Sports to license 48 Pearl Jam songs for the 2013 World Series coverage. Their music will be featured on opening teases, commercial transitions and montages from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31 as well as in promotional slots throughout the month of November as "artist of the month."
According to Billboard, the band agreed to license pretty much any song that Fox Sports had on their wish list. Highlights include "Animal," "Better Man," "Black," "Blood," "Corduroy," "Daughter," and "Even Flow." All 12 songs off their recent Lightning Bolt album have been licensed as well as 36 songs that span the band's catalogue (save for 2002's politically leaning Riot Act).
"There was a period of time when we didn't license much music," Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis told Billboard. "But for the past many years, we considered licensing requests using the same criteria we do for everything else: Do we like it? Would the fans like it? Does it provide a different forum for fans to hear the music? Is it something we can get behind? The band loves baseball, so this one was a no-brainer."
The article reports that Eddie Vedder is a huge Cubs fans and also a good friend of Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck.
"You'll hear certain guys say they're a Yankee fan or an NFL fan, and maybe they know some stuff but they're not die-hards," Buck told Billboard. "This guy's just a legit, die-hard baseball fan, and I've never had a more relaxed, normal conversation in that kind of atmosphere."
This is not the first time Fox Sports has enlisted rock artists for promotional licensing. Last year, the network made a deals with Jack White during the National League Championship and the Who for 30 songs during the World Series. However, the Pearl Jam partnership is the largest in terms of the number of songs licensed.
What do you think of the new partnership? Let us know in the comments section below!
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
