Big Mac To Be 'Shouted Out' By Hip-Hop Artists

Commercial Free Childhood:  It looks like McDonald's wants to increase sales of the Big Mac and plans to hop onboard the recent trend of being mentioned or 'shouted out' in popular song lyrics. Celebrity tie-ins such as this are quickly becoming one of the most effective new marketing strategies. Since Hip-hop represents a large share of what pop culture is today, the fast food giant has hired entertainment marketing firm Maven Strategies (an agency that specializes in placing corporate brands into song lyrics) to help encourage hip-hop artists to integrate the Big Mac sandwich into their upcoming songs.

What caught my attention was the fact that  "Music acts will not receive payment upfront. Instead, they will earn anywhere from $1 to $5 each time their song is played on the radio."  So, the end result is very little risk or upfront money for McDonalds, with the heavier burden being placed on the artist to deliver a hit song.  In other words, Maven compensates artists based solely on the performance of their song, which is kind of a new twist.  According to the article, generous royalties will be paid out for radio and satellite spins, but if the song becomes a hit - McDonalds gains additional leverage because there will be no additional compensation due when the song is: played in clubs, gets downloaded, purchased on CD or is turned into a ringtone. Not a bad move since Hip-hop generates an estimated $2 billion in sales a year and ranks behind rock 'n' roll as the second most popular music genre in America. Thanks Stephen!