Neil Young Appears Not Happy with Beck’s Cover of “Old Man” Saying ‘Sponsered by Nobody’

Singer Neil Young is not thrilled with Beck for releasing the NFL-sponsored cover of “Old Man.”  Beck’s cover of the song  made an appearance when a Sunday Night Football game finished  and a couple of  hours later Young went on his Instagram and posted a still photo from his anti-sponsorship video for 1988 song “This Note’s for You.”  The image speaks for its self because Young is holding a bottle that has the words “Sponsored by Nobody” written on the label.

“This Note’s for You” is Young’s most explicit tune. The lyrics “Ain’t singing for Pepsi/Ain’t singing for Coke/I don’t sing for nobody/Makes me look like a joke,” said Young “This note’s for you.” Also in 2021 the singer-songwriter sold half of his catalog to the music company Hipgnosis which included the copyright and income interests for approximately 1,180 songs. Although the terms and content of the sale remain private. it does seem like Young may have lost the rights to veto the sponsorship deals for the songs such as “Old Man.”