Matthew Weiner understands why it costs a lot to license 'Tomorrow Never Knows' on TV show, saying, 'They are concerned about their legacy and their artistic impact.'
- May 9, 2012
AceShowbiz - Matthew Weiner spent a lot of money to use The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" in the latest episode of his show "Mad Men". Explaining the need to feature the original song by the British band, the writer/producer shared, "It was always my feeling that the show lacked a certain authenticity because we never could have an actual master recording of the Beatles performing."
The creator of the AMC acclaimed series insisted that featuring a cover version of the classic hit would not help much to reach his goal. "Not just someone singing their song or a version of their song, but them, doing a song in the show," he stated. "It always felt to me like a flaw. Because they are the band, probably, of the 20th century."
Weiner, who doesn't mind spending a lot of money to license a song for "Mad Men", said he understands why it comes at such a high price to use the Beatles music. "Whatever people think, this is not about money," he stressed. "It never is. They are concerned about their legacy and their artistic impact."
Revealing that his previous attempts to license the Beatles song had been declined by Apple Corps., the 46-year-old had to share story details to the company before getting the approval. "It was hard because I had to, writing-wise, commit to the story that I thought was worthy of this incredible opportunity," he admitted.
On what the song means to him, he explained, "The thing about that song in particular was, The Beatles are, throughout their intense existence, constantly pushing the envelope, and I really wanted to show how far ahead of the culture they were. That song to me is revolutionary, as is that album."
As a result of Weiner's tireless efforts, Jon Hamm's Don Draper was featured listening to "Tomorrow Never Knows" in "Lady Lazarus", which aired last Sunday, May 6. He got the record from Jessica Pare's Megan, who wanted to educate him on music.
