Arcade Fire Give Song License to NFL for Haiti Relief

Posted on Feb 3rd 2010 4:00PM by Benjy Eisen
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Just one day after the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti caused an unimaginable amount of destruction and death, Montreal's Arcade Fire posted a message to their website imploring fans to help by donating money to Partners in Health. That charitable organization had clinics already in place in the areas surrounding hard-hit capital city Port-au-Prince where the medical infrastructure was nonexistent following the quake. The post by the band on their website began with, "Friends, Haiti needs your help in her darkest hour." It ended with a plea to "please be generous."

Now, Arcade Fire are leading by example: the band announced on Wednesday that they have licensed the song 'Wake Up,' off their 2004 breakthrough 'Funeral,' to the NFL for use in this Sunday's Super Bowl (and on any subsequent airings). All proceeds from the license will go directly to Partners in Health's relief efforts. That includes all sides of the licensing agreement -- both the mechanical and the publishing --from both Merge Records and Bank Robber Music, respectively.

Of course, it's curious that of all the songs they could've picked from 'Funeral,' they didn't go with 'Haiti.' Or would that have been too obvious?

Arcade Fire's 'Wake Up'