Pitchfork

Photo by Autumn de Wilde

Though it's hardly a declaration of war, a recent post on M. Ward's MySpace blog points to the possibility of a Waits-ian battle brewing between the Merge songwriter and MasterCard over an advertisement. You've probably seen the ad: it's the one with the baseball fans from all walks of life, and it's for some sort of contest to win a week with your favorite team. It also features a suspiciously familiar song on its soundtrack...

According to the post, "MasterCard was denied permission by M. Ward to use his version of Daniel Johnston's 'To Go Home' [from Ward's recent EP of the same name and Post-War LP]-- so MasterCard found some anonymous musicians to re-record the song. Neither M. Ward nor the musicians that appeared on his version have any involvement in this recording or the commercial."

We're not sure of the legality of a company using an inexact replica of a cover (judge all this for yourself by checking out the ad below). And if it came to a lawsuit-- not that any legal action is mentioned-- are the rights Ward's in this case or Johnston's? Nonetheless, it seems like a shady deal on MasterCard's part: Calling for permission to use a song in a commercial: 10 cents. Being rejected: free. Getting session musicians to cut a version of the song you can use anyway: priceless.

By the way, Ward is still on tour opening for Norah Jones and the Handsome Band this summer. Their next date is August 1 in Istanbul.

Dates:

08-01 Istanbul, Turkey - International Istanbul Jazz Festival *
08-03 Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene *
08-04 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus *
08-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Falkoner Theater *
08-07 Hamburg, Germany - Stadtpark *
08-08 Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle *
08-10 Pula, Croatia - Open Air Amphitheatre *
08-13 Colmar, France - Festival de la Foire aux Vins d'Alsace *
08-14 Vienne, France - Theatre Antique *
08-15 Nimes, France - Arenes *
08-18 Brussels, Belgium - Forest National *
08-19 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Heineken Music Hall *
08-20 Düsseldorf, Germany - Philipshalle *
08-23 Dublin, Ireland - The Point *
08-24 Glasgow, Scotland - Clyde *
08-25 Manchester, England - Manchester Apollo *
08-27 London, England - Hammersmith Apollo *
09-02 Reykjavik, Iceland - Laugardalsholl *
09-16 San Francisco, CA - Treasure Island Festival
09-18 New York, NY - World Trade Center (Music Downtown Series)

* with Norah Jones and the Handsome Band