There's a lot of upheaval in the music industry right now, and a lot of activism. What do you think of organizations working to better define artists' rights in the digital age? In Washington, there's the Future of Music Coalition, a think tank that's just released an important study on the state of radio and does work on issues involving artists' rights and the Internet. In California, Don Henley co-founded the Recording Artists' Coalition to champion artists' rights in Congress and beyond. Do you think the work these groups are doing is important?

Morello: One ambition of mine is to unionize rockers and rappers. There is no collective bargaining whatsoever. I belong to the musicians' union, and I'll tell you, if you are a symphony member, if you can play oboe with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, they'll make sure you get your scale. If you are in a fledgling hip-hop band and someone puts a contract down on the hood of their Bentley, there's no one you can go to.

The Recording Artists' Coalition is a good step in that direction, but one of my qualms about it is that the majority of the people on the board of directors are not even artists.

Ray: I'm a big supporter of the Future of Music Coalition, because they're trying to educate people about the way the machine works. You have to know that before you can accomplish your art within the framework of consumerism. It also helps you accomplish your activism better because if you're smart about the way this machine works, you're going to understand the way other corporate structures work and you'll understand how to approach them.

Carrie, Sleater-Kinney has stayed on a small independent label, Kill Rock Stars, and that's a big part of the band's identity.

Carrie Brownstein: I think the model that we embody illustrates what you can do by taking a different route from the completely corporate one. You can hold on to your ideals and still support yourself. But I totally understand why people sign to a major label. So many bands struggle in obscurity or struggle on an indie label for years and years. It's not a black and white issue, so even though I've said it's a political or business model, I don't really think of it as an instruction manual. It's something that has worked for us and we have been lucky.

Boots, the Coup has been on major and independent labels. Any difference?

Riley: My main principle is getting the idea out there. Because of my politics, I don't necessarily think that the independent capitalist is that much better than the multinational capitalist; it's just that the independent capitalist hasn't grown as big yet. I've been on an indie label, and the only difference was they had less money to work with. But there is a different line that I won't go across--opportunities put in front of our faces to make a lot of money.

Like what?

Riley: Interview magazine had this thing going on. I didn't find out what the figure was but it involved money. They'd do a whole editorial on us and they'd have this thing with Levi's where on the other side of the page we'd wear Levi's. That was just this past year. Those types of things are even extra weird for me because I'm like, "Why do they want us?" The only reason is to say, "We got them all now!" [Editor's Note: Interview acknowledges approaching the Coup for a Levi's ad but denies any editorial component.]

Vedder: I know that when I heard the Buzzcocks on a Toyota ad, I wasn't particularly upset. I mean, the initial reaction was shock; at the same time, it's a good song and I know they haven't sold a million records. But I feel like maybe a band like the Counting Crows in a Coke commercial, they should know that Coke's been marketing to children and striking deals with the schools to get pop machines and advertising in the schools. I just wouldn't want to participate in anything like that.

Brownstein: There are ways of being savvy about dealing with corporations and about making decisions that you feel good about. Homegrocer.com asked Sam [Coomes, who plays in the duo Quasi with Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss] for a song he wrote ["Would You Like to Have Something to Eat?"]. He did give them the song and they were going to pay him a large sum of money and he said, "OK, but you have to match that and I'm donating it to a food bank in Portland."

I did a Priceline commercial, you know.

Right, right, with William Shatner, I remember it.

Brownstein: It was just me. I was like, "Yeah, I'll do that commercial, just for fun." I would not have had the band do it and we would not have given a song to them. There's definitely kind of a line in my head that artistically, in terms of the band and our music, I just would not cross. I would rather sign to a major label than ever do an ad for McDonald's.

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