According to a report on the Marketing Week website today, record label EMI are set to allow big companies to sponsor their artists.

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The British major is looking to raise as much cash as it can from its acts since it was taken over in the summer, and it seems the new owners hope a bit of product endorsement may help. Although it might seem a bit weird – especially to British ears – practically all of our music festivals have sponsorship and in America bands often hit the road with big corporate logos on their amps.

Personally though I can’t think of anything worse, as this kind of marketing feels like it takes your love of a band and turns it against you.

It really irks me when I hear a song I’ve loved cropping up in an advert because it’s a hijacking of the feelings and emotions that the piece of music invokes.

If a song reminds you of your first love, a great summer or even just a moment going absolutely mental at a gig, it seems really cheap to have those memories attached to selling fizzy drinks or soap powder against your will.

Imagine how worse then this will feel if every time you see your favourite act you have to be reminded about some fast food chain or car company.

I accept that record labels have to make a profit – whatever their artistic aims making money is the only reason they exist - but while we’ve got to tolerate songs in adverts (and to be fair with declining opportunities to get music on the airwaves sometime ads are the only way to get your music heard, just ask Moby) this is a move too far.

Sponsorship will strip acts of their credibility and eventually lead to lower sells as fans get bored of being constantly advertised to, rather than been allowed to actually enjoy their favourite music for a few moments. Besides Chris Martin would look terrible in one of those ad-laden Formula One Jumpsuits…

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