10 Classic Songs About How The Music Industry Sucks
3. Into the Great Wide Open - Tom Petty
Before he even became a superstar, Tom Petty knew the ugly side of the music business. As he was prepping for his breakthrough album Damn the Torpedoes, Petty was served with a lawsuit over songwriting royalties and had to fight tooth and nail to make sure he had the rights to his own songs. Now with that in the rearview, it was time for Tom to revisit the days when he was first getting his feet wet.
Working with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, the title track of Into the Great Wide Open is the story of any up and coming musician, as we watch Eddie trying to make it as a superstar. While it starts like your typical music bio movie with our protagonist getting a tattoo in LA, things start to spiral the minute that he starts getting a deal, from the enhanced security to the A&R man saying that he doesn’t hear a single after Eddie puts his heart and soul into his new record. Petty wasn’t shy about the ugly side of fame either, creating the video with Julien Temple centered around Johnny Depp being the biggest rock and roll casualty that you’ve ever seen.
By the end of the song though, you see Eddie going back to the same tattoo shop, only to find another hopeful getting his branding before trying his hand at becoming a rock star. No matter how many times artists get thrown back out on the street, the allure of Los Angeles is much too powerful.