In this pandemic age, we've all had to adapt in one way or another. Remember when zoom was just an onomatopoeia? For countless workers, daily office environments have been replaced by video conferences; the same ubiquitous technology has also replaced in-person get-togethers for schooling and socialization, and features on television news, talk, and even competition/variety shows. Sony Music has found a way to inject a bit of musicality into these video calls with Iconic Music Backgrounds.
Developed in collaboration between Sony Music U.K.'s 4th Floor Creative and Legacy Recordings here in the U.S., Iconic Music Backgrounds offers just that: a background that will replace your home in a video call and insert you into a favorite album from past and present. As Legacy explains in its press release, "Users are able to virtually immerse themselves into their favorite music moments, from culture-defining albums from Bob Dylan and Wu-Tang Clan, to pop classics from Britney Spears and *NSYNC; Nas' hip hop masterpiece Illmatic, country classics from Willie Nelson, and many more. Sony Music has rounded up the most iconic and celebrated music video moments from throughout the years for users to choose from with more classic albums and video stills to be released in the coming months."
The current line-up features fifteen backgrounds, so fans can insert themselves into New York's West Village circa 1963 (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan), underwater with every child's favorite earworm (Pinkfong's "Baby Shark"), and everywhere in between.
The complete list of currently available backgrounds can be found below. All can be downloaded at Iconic Music Backgrounds now.
- Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
- Britney Spears, Baby One More Time
- Britney Spears, Oops!...I Did It Again
- Khalid, Free Spirit
- LSD, LSD
- Mobb Deep, The Infamous
- Nas, Illmatic
- *NSYNC, No Strings Attached
- Willie Nelson, Red Headed Stranger
- Wu-Tang Clan, 36 Chambers
- George Ezra, Shotgun
- Judas Priest, Painkiller
- Jamiroquai, A Funk Odyssey
- Pinkfong, Baby Shark
- Primal Scream, Loaded
Except for Bob and Willie, none of these are “iconic.”
Jeez,, Sony. No Billy Joel or Bruce Springsteen? Simon and Garfunkel? Miles Davis? Just a few truly iconic Sony artists there.
Yeah, MJ too... I was never a fan, and his legacy is problematic to say the least. But I recognize he was iconic.
Of course, I’d have to actually Zoom meeting backgrounds in the first place. I have Zoom meetings for work, what’s actually behind me seems sufficient. A wall, my backyard, etc.
I hope Atlantic records does the same with some of the iconic Yes album covers...
I'm truly baffled by this. Maybe if they removed the artists and the titles -- i.e. my background could be the Freewheelin' street view without Dylan in it -- that would make sense. But if I wanted to do this I would have downloaded some "iconic" album covers from Amazon long ago.