Move any mountain

The Cool KIds go green

Green Label Sound is a new label from citrus soft drink Mountain Dew (owned by PepsiCo) that will offer up a selection of new tracks from the hottest new artists. The singles-only download label has partnered with Chicago’s The Cool Kids and Brooklyn duo Matt And Kim, with more artists set to follow suit. The first release out of the stable door is ‘Delivery Man’ by The Cool Kids. The single’s sleeve is depicted in the colours of Mountain Dew.

“Mountain Dew is not trying to push its product through music like everyone else, they just wanna support music,” says Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids. “[It] gives us a further reach than we would’ve had on our own, but we still get to keep the same creative independence,” echoes bandmate Mikey Rocks.

Two more artists are set to join the label in the autumn.

So what?: As more and more brands actively seek deeper alignments with artists (and the artists too become more open to creative partnerships outside the traditional recording industry), the concept of ‘selling out’ has simply met its sell-by date. Aligning with a brand is now becoming commonplace (Bacardi & Grove Armada, Wrigley’s and Chris Brown, etc.). A product, be it a fizzy drink or running shoe, is no more a brand than a major record label or the artists themselves. If creativity is unrestricted, and the tie-in is viable, then artists have everything to gain from their ‘brand’ new relationships.

“It’s good to see brands responding to audience demand for free music. If Mountain Dew is truly committed and this isn’t a short-term marketing campaign, then it could be an interesting label to watch. It’ll backfire on them if they’re short-termist. The industry is still waiting for a committed brand to offer long-term support to new and existing artists from the ground up.”
Jim Martin, Social Media Strategist, Work Club

www.greenlabelsound.com