![]() Waka Flocka Flame performs on the Vans Warped Tour in 2016. “So I think brands are more keen than ever to reconnect with their subcultural heritage – if they have any – or try to forge some subcultural anchoring if they don’t.” “There’s a real demand for authenticity at the moment,” explains Jamie Brett from Youth Club, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to archiving youth culture. But over the past decade companies have descended on musicians more zealously than ever. It’s true that corporations and musicians have been shacking up together for decades – since the Vans Warped tour began in the mid-90s, even anti-establishment punk types have been in bed with them. But what’s in it for the brands – why have massive companies like Budweiser, Versace and Adidas invaded the alternative music scene? And can an underground even exist when so many of its artists are in cahoots with multinationals? ![]() It’s not simply a case of moral bankruptcy, but rather literal bankruptcy: new and independent artists have had their potential income slashed by streaming and have been forced to mine money from an alternative source. Is it possible, in 2017, to sell out? Not so long ago, cosying up to big business was considered the gravest sin an underground artist could commit – but these days new and leftfield musicians seem to spend their days hoovering up cash provided by brands while fans barely bat an eyelid. Have brand partnerships destroyed counterculture? Or are they all that’s keeping it alive? ![]() Princess Nokia makes films for Maybelline.
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