Pitchfork

Our questions about the M. Ward/Daniel Johnston vs. MasterCard issue were diffused today, when we received an email from reader Derek L. McDaniel.

After reading our story about MasterCard's potentially shady use of an M. Ward soundalike to record another version of Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home", McDaniel-- a Daniel Johnston admirer-- took the liberty of contacting Johnston's brother Dick to see what was up.

Dick responded by saying, "We are aware of the commercial, and they did pay Daniel for use of the song... M. Ward was reluctant to sign up another recording from his album fearing it would look like he was 'selling out'-- so we had another band record it and that's what they used. But Daniel was compensated for use of the song."

So there you go: crisis averted. M. Ward's not a sell-out, and Daniel Johnston now has some well-deserved compensation for his song. Also, MasterCard are dealing on the up-and-up, which is definitely nice to hear about a corporation.

Thanks, Derek!