Tesco recently used our classic track Barwick Green (otherwise known as The Archers theme tune) in an advert for cheese, which had Archers fans raising a stink.
Followers of the world’s longest-running soap opera raced to social media to blast the synchronisation, with one fan saying: “How dare Tesco use Barwick Green to advertise its cheese? I bet it’s not even organic!”
Tesco claimed the usage was “a ‘fromage’ to a popular British institution” and the BBC were quick to remind people that they don’t own the rights to the music, so it wasn’t their fault! While it was us who provided the music, and we think it’s a brilliant use of a classic melody to advertise British produce by our friends at Leland Music, now would be a good time to say that the nature of library music means we have no say in what it is used for. This is also what makes it so easy to use, just download your favourite tracks and file a licence with the PRS and the music is yours!
To be honest, I’m far more outraged that apparently Stilton sales have fallen dramatically – which was the motivation behind the advert. We’re more than happy to make up the difference though, and keep a stash in the Imagem fridge!
