Posted by I happen to think that David Usher (the multi-platinum solo artist, former lead singer of the rock band, Moist, and Blogger over at CloudID) is making all of the right moves (and no, I’m not just saying this because he is a personal friend). David is playing in many of the social media environments, he’s still pushing great music out there, he’s speaking to Marketers, industry and those in the music business about the many changes, and he’s embracing the change that is the music industry (and not bitching about how he’s going to sell CDs).
I’m also a huge comic book nerd (all hail DC Comics) and I love anything and everything Batman… especially what I’ve seen surrounding the latest flick, Batman – The Dark Knight.
So, while the video below is not "authorized" by David, I’m sure he was smiling ear-to-ear when he was notified that someone grabbed his new single, ‘Kill The Lights’, from his upcoming release, Wake Up And Say Goodbye, and created a mash-up of it with the Batman – The Dark Knight movie trailer, and uploaded it to YouTube.
I have to admit, I was smiling from ear-to-ear too. I was really looking forward to both seeing the new Batman – The Dark Knight movie and listening to David’s latest disc… now I’m getting excited about both in one very cool clip.
You can check it out here: Batman – The Dark Knight – David Usher ‘Kill The Lights’ Mash-up.
From a business perspective, David is not going to make money off of this video (and, I’m not even sure what the legalities are around fans creating mash-ups), but I can tell you that those interested in the movie, might now want to check out a very cool musician as well. That’s great, strategic and a well-though-out promotion… even if David had nothing to do with it 🙂
I love it when fans are creative and, in return for loving the art (or product or service), help artists (and businesses) to spread their messages in new, creative and innovative ways.
If you’ve ever wondered what real user generated content is (or consumer generated content – depending on what you like to call it)… this is it.
If you’ve ever wondered what great Marketing is… this is it.
Never another podcast episode or article 
OH Mitch… how did I not know you nerd creed went so deep to touch some comic book love. I still remember getting my first one in Grade 5 and now more then 15 years later, I still read them.
The creative inspiration that one can get from a comic book and even video games is one of the main reasons I love reading them. Plus I’m not a talented drawer, so it’s cool to see what other people can do.
How do the new proposed “copywrite” laws in Canada affect this type of user generated content? I’m not asking from a very sophisticated level of understanding regarding the whole subject, so please forgive me if the question is naive…
Cheers,
Adam