Excerpt from a May 4, 2018 YouTube interview where Matt Britton and Rev Run discuss how brand-artist dynamics have changed (brands now seek artists) and reflect on Run DMC's historic partnership with Adidas — noting Adidas was struggling financially before their collaboration and that the Run DMC logo remains commercially valuable.
Today, it would be so easy for a brand to find an artist.
Right, right.
But back then, you almost had to find the brand. There was no YouTube.
I think they knew we were on their radar, but it was up to the managers to connect to make sure that we got a deal going. But it was. They had to know because they're skyrocketing in Detroit, Skyrocketing there. And they probably just felt like maybe they was just gonna ride it until we gave them a call. But I. You said now. The brands are now connecting, calling the artists instead of artists calling. Right, right. So.
And, you know, you guys obviously propelled Adidas. You said they were about to go bankrupt, and they're doing just fine now.
They were. They were going out of business for sure. Yeah.
And so was there a point, though, that you felt like later in your career, maybe Adidas propelled you? Like, how is that partnership worked over time? What does that partnership look like?
I don't know if Adidas propelled us. Run DMC is its own thing. But, you know, we are definitely a partnership. Run DMC and Adidas. To this day, I still wear the stuff.
Are you getting paid to wear that right now?
No, but I get paid all the time through certain sneakers that sell when they use my logo. The Run DMC logo is probably one of the biggest logos in the world.
