Dan Deacon and Google Chrome

Dan Deacon is a DIY mastermind, one of a handful of prolific and well-known artists who do things themselves, and do things a certain way.

He plays all ages shows. He plays shows for $10 a pop. He plays shows in “unorthodox” venues.

And he doesn’t sell his music to a big corporation… Normally.

Some people probably huffed and puffed when his song “Pink Batman” ended up being used for a Crayola commercial. Deacon had a brilliant response to those naysayers [via Stereogum]:

this is the first time i’ve let a large company license one of my songs. i’ve been asked by several others before but this is the first time its been for something that promotes a company that creates a product that encourages people (children) to make art and to use their minds to create. maybe i’m being naive but i used their crayons.

Makes sense.

So why is Google using Deacon’s “Build Voice” to spread their web browser, Chrome, to folks online? It seems a little… odd:

[youtubevid id=”uwEupAQReCs”]

I guess the reason isn’t why – the song is fantastic. I guess my question is how? Did Deacon give Google the thumbs up? Did Google find some loophole so they could use the song?

This is hardly an indictment of Deacon or Google, but a question first and foremost. What were the circumstances that brought a song from an artist who isn’t privy to selling his music to a big company for an advertisement and a big corporate entity together for a brief 30-second commercial?