Neil Young comments on Beck’s ‘Old Man’ cover being used in NFL advertisement
Neil Young does not do advertisements. The legendary singer-songwriter is famously averse to having his songs be used by companies to sell products, so much so that he has an entire song about how much he hates the concept. ‘This Note’s for You’ is probably the most brutal takedown of corporate culture and rock music’s chummy relationship with it ever put to vinyl, with lines like, “Ain’t singing for Pepsi / Ain’t singing for Coke / I don’t sing for nobody / Makes me look like a joke” making Young’s opinion on the matter clear.
But now, he doesn’t really have much of a choice. That’s because, back in 2021, Young sold off approximately half of his catalogue to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The exact details of the deal weren’t shared with the public, but Hipgnosis founder Merch Mercuriadis emphasised at the time that Young would continue to be involved in the overseeing of his material to make sure that they weren’t exploiting his songs or his stance on advertising.
It appears as though that might not entirely be the case anymore. Last Sunday night, NBC aired an advertisement for the following Sunday’s edition of Sunday Night Football featuring the Kansas City Cheifs playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The advert was soundtracked by Beck playing his recent cover of Young’s classic ‘Old Man’. The spot appears to be a nice dig at the Buccaneers’ 45-year-old quarterback Tom Brady playing against the much younger Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, but Young doesn’t seem too pleased by the ad.
Taking to his Instagram account, Young shared a still from the ‘This Note’s for You’ video featuring the message “Sponsored By Nobody” affixed to the front of a beer bottle. Could this be a coincidence? Sure, but the timing is awfully suspect, considering the recent use of ‘Old Man’ to promote the multi-billion dollar national Football League enterprise. Neither Young nor the NFL (nor Beck, for that matter) have made any official statements, but it appears that Young isn’t too chuffed at his long-standing stance against using his music in ads being broken.
Did Hipnosis believe that they could put out a cover without directly consulting Young? Is Young just upset that he no longer has control over how his music is being used? Is this all a bunch of hoopla over nothing? The answer could be yes to all of these questions, but for now, we just have to assume that Neil Young isn’t happy with something. Go figure.
Check out the advertisement featuring Beck’s cover of ‘Old Man’ and Young’s Instagram post below.
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