I’m just gonna add my two cents to this story right out of the gate-
NEIL, YOU SOLD THE RIGHTS TO YOUR MUSIC.
Therefore, in my mind, you have no right to complain or protest or whatever when somebody now covers one of your songs, and it’s used in advertising.
Beck’s cover of “Old Man” is reverential and quite amazing actually, and it will debut on WGLX Friday night, in Cricket’s Alternate Universe, which starts at 7pm.
-Kincaid
Now, here’s the story.
Although Neil Young gave up the publishing rights to much of his music when he made a deal with Hipgnosis Songs, that hasn’t stopped him from registering his dislike for Beck’s cover of “Old Man.”
The new version of the Young classic appears in an NFL commercial that premiered over the weekend. While Young hasn’t said a word about it, he appeared to take a decidedly less verbal approach to criticizing Beck’s version in a photo posted to Instagram. The pic is a still from Young’s music video for “This Note’s for You,” a song in which the classic rocker complains about the use of music in advertising.
Young has not commented on or offered an explanation for the post.
