Nile Rodgers reveals how a last-minute change to Shrek 2 made him “a fortune”
Sync licensing can be a highly lucrative income stream, particularly for artists who land their music in big Hollywood feature films. And as Nile Rodgers explains in a new interview with Vulture, a significant proportion of his earnings have come from such placements.
The guitarist has enjoyed an illustrious five-decade career dabbling in a whole host of different genres, most notably performing in disco powerhouse band Chic, and alongside A-list music stars like Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and Michael Jackson, to name a few.
But his music has often been featured in motion pictures, too, including Chic smash hit Le Freak, which plays during a scene in Shrek 2. And as Rodgers explains, that placement earned him a fair bit of coin.
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“A lot of my songs have brought in a lot of money from sampling, but the most lucrative ones have been placed in films,” he says.
“The only reason why I know that this one made a fortune was because of the length of the cue: There’s a film called The Birdcage from the mid-’90s, starring Robins Williams, that took place at a queer club in Miami.
“It opens with a camera going across South Beach and then the shot goes straight into a club where [Chic’s] We Are Family is being performed by a group of drag performers. It’s a very long music cue. And then We Are Family is played several more times later in the film. My bank account was happy to see that deposit.”
He goes on, explaining how he earned a “fortune” from the placement of Chic’s Le Freak in Shrek 2 (2004).
“The film originally had the Gap Band’s Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) as the cue when Shrek and his girlfriend take off in the car and their friends are behind and watching their house. Or is it a cart? What do ogres drive?
Rodgers explains that the scene wasn’t landing with audiences during test screenings, leading producers to test out Le Freak instead.
“Right before Shrek 2 locked, and I really mean an hour or so before, I got a call asking if they could try Le Freak,” Rodgers recalls. “I said, ‘Sure, cool.’ So Shrek turns around and his friends are partying like crazy to Le Freak. It was clear that the song made the joke work. It’s a teeny, tiny cue, and I made a fortune.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Nile Rodgers speaks on his unashamedly confident approach to session work. Asked to name the most intimidating collaborator he’s ever worked with, he replies: “Nobody. No way, man.
“If I ever believed that, it would mean I’m walking into the studio and thinking, ‘You can make a record better than me.’ And nobody can make a record better than me. Please don’t take this in an egotistical way. Who have I made records with? Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, the London Symphony Orchestra. I’m not intimidated. I’m here to have fun…
“The one thing that’s super important is to make an artist know that I have their best interests at heart. That’s all I care about. My legacy is pretty much written.”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
