{"id":485356,"date":"2019-05-02T09:23:05","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T15:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=829708"},"modified":"2019-05-02T09:23:05","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T15:23:05","slug":"how-hbo-execs-convinced-the-weeknd-travis-scott-sza-and-rosalia-to-sing-about-game-of-thrones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/how-hbo-execs-convinced-the-weeknd-travis-scott-sza-and-rosalia-to-sing-about-game-of-thrones\/","title":{"rendered":"How HBO Execs Convinced The Weeknd, Travis Scott, SZA and Rosal\u00eda to Sing About \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Games of Thrones<\/em><\/a> is a product. No matter how omnipresent the book-series-turned-TV-gets, it\u2019s still just something that, by design, appeals to many millions of people. With that comes opportunities to sell some Game of Thrones <\/em>stuff.<\/p>\n

Right now, if one was so inclined, they could dunk their Game of Thrones<\/em> Oreos<\/a> in a Game of Thrones<\/em> mug<\/a> while sitting on a Game of Thrones<\/em> Iron Throne<\/a>, wearing Game of Thrones<\/em> sneakers<\/a> over their Game of Thrones<\/em> socks<\/a>, then run to the kitchen to put on a Game of Thrones<\/em> apron and oven mitts<\/a> to cook a Game of Thrones<\/em> meal<\/a> (probably, like, a turkey leg?).<\/p>\n

Jeff Peters, HBO<\/a>\u2019s Vice President of Licensing and Retail, admits that 95 to 100% of his recent days are taken over by the juggernaut series. Yet his department has a \u201crule of thumb\u201d concerning the products that are worthy enough for the fantasy property. \u201cThe product needs to feel like it is an organic match with the show and makes sense with the brand,\u201d he says. \u201cThat the fans don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re just sticking the Game of Thrones<\/em> logo on a random thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe craziest pitch we ever got was somebody that asked if they could do licensed Game of Thrones<\/em> pet vaccines,\u201d Peters continues. \u201cWe said, \u2018That\u2019s too much.\u2019 And we did not cross that line.\u201d<\/p>\n

A line HBO wasn\u2019t afraid to cross was a Game of Thrones<\/em> soundtrack, For the Throne<\/em><\/a> (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones<\/em>). The 14-track album is inspired by the show and features artists as varied as Maren Morris, Lil Peep and Rosal\u00eda.<\/p>\n

\u201cProof of concept\u201d ideas like the Catch the Throne<\/em> mixtape series in 2014, featuring artists like Big Boi, Wale and Ty Dolla $ign had come before, but For the Throne<\/em> was intended to be more ambitious. By Peter\u2019s estimate, the idea for the soundtrack was four or five years in the making and started to coalesce a year and a half ago. Season eight\u2019s marketing campaign was centered around a central question: \u201cWhat would people and what would brands and what would artists do \u2018for the throne?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe knew Abel was a fan of the show. It was something that we sort of always danced around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The answer, if you\u2019re a major label vying for some residual GoT<\/em> cachet, is a lot. Imran Majid, head of A&R at Columbia Records, first heard about the opportunity from Tom Mackay, Sony\u2019s President of Music Film and Television A&R. From there, he beat out various labels by pitching GoT<\/em>\u2018s music supervisor, Evyen Klean<\/a>, on two guiding principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrategically, it was all about going after artists that we knew would be fans. It was arguably the most important thing in the process, because we wanted to make sure that artist, one, had the ability to be as direct as they wanted to be or interpret in any way that they felt the songs represented the show, but it only makes sense when an artist watches the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second part of the plan hinged on what Majid calls \u201cmulti-genre diversity.\u201d At times, For The Throne<\/em> might seem scattershot \u2014 it incorporates elements of rap, R&B, rock, pop and neo-flamenco across its 46-minute runtime. That was by design.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, sometimes naturally the instinct is [to] be a little more indie and alternative leaning, but we knew the audience itself was very diverse,\u201d Majid says. \u201cWe knew the fans of the show, in terms of the artist community, were gonna be diverse. So it was critical from the beginning that we represented that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lead single, \u201cPower is Power\u201d<\/a> \u2014 which features The Weeknd<\/a>, SZA<\/a> and Travis Scott<\/a> \u2014 tested the limits of this approach. The last time GoT<\/em> involved a Billboard<\/em> behemoth in the show (Ed Sheeran) it was critically maligned. Thankfully, The Weeknd were never considered for an in-show cameo, but he was the group\u2019s white whale for the soundtrack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew Abel was a fan of the show. It was something that we sort of always danced around,\u201d Majid explains. \u201cWe knew that he was in the studio making a new album. With his schedule, it could\u2019ve been a long shot. Our chairman Ron Perry, who has a pre-existing relationship with Abel from writing songs, publishing\u2026 We were at dinner one night. It was like, \u2018Why don\u2019t we just hit him up?\u2019 So he texted Abel being like, \u2018Dude, are you into doing this song for this inspired by soundtrack?\u2019 And he immediately responded and said he was down.\u201d<\/p>\n