Roger Waters has revealed he denied Instagram’s request to use a Pink Floyd song as part of an advertising campaign for the social media platform. Appearing at a pro-Julian Assange event, Waters said that the company offered the band a “huge, huge amount of money” for permission to use “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” in an ad, to which the musician replied: “The answer is, ‘f— you. No f-in’ way.'”
“¡Vete a la chingada!”: @rogerwaters a Mark Zuckerberg. El músico contó que le ofrecieron “una gran cantidad de dinero” por permitir el uso de Another brick in the wall II para promover Instagram. Lo narró en un acto por la libertad de Julian Assange (@Wikileaks)#VideosLaJornada pic.twitter.com/gEVqaor8Eo
— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) June 12, 2021
- Pink Floyd has always wanted their music to be used responsibly. The band has previously said that they’d only allow their songs to be used for a good cause, and Facebook’s use certainly did not count. He believed letting them use the track would “make Facebook and Instagram more powerful than it already is… so that it can continue to censor all of us in this room and prevent this story about Julian Assange getting out into the general public so the general public can go, ‘What? No. No more.'”
- Facebook says it’s totally cool with the refusal. The company clarified that Instagram’s marketing team was the department that reached out Waters and said: “We respect the decisions made by musicians and creators on whether or not they would like to work with us.”
- Roger Waters really doesn’t like Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. In fact, he was particularly critical of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, EW reports, and questioned how he went from creating a dumb app to critique women’s appearances to eventually becoming “one of the most powerful idiots in the world.”
- If more public figures stood up to Facebook, things might change. Waters may seem a little “out there” to some but the crux of what he’s saying has merit. Big tech rules a lot of society from what information we see to how our personal information is used. The more we point this out and push back, the bigger chance we have of things changing in the future.
