Earlier this year Rolling Stone sat down for an interview with future-pop's mysterious, sought after auteurs: SOPHIE and PC Music head custodian A.G. Cook. One inquiry stood out. Rolling Stone wanted an answer to a question that—for the duration of PC Music's rise from a bedroom art project to a monopoliser of the cultural conversation; selling energy drinks for $20 a pop—had been on everyone's mind. Is there an element of satire to what they do? Are they making fun of pop music?"No, I mean, I never set it up in that way," Cook replied. "Everything can get interpreted as satire, in that very cynical way… [But] we take it seriously. This is a big part of our lives. There's no way that satire could be at the core of anything.""Why would you bother investing so much of your time and energy in something that's basically laughing at something and not contributing anything? I don't think that's a worthwhile use of your time," SOPHIE continued."We're really just trying to see if we can make something stick culturally."Two months after that interview—and two years since PC Music evolved from the Tumblr page Gamsonite and into a label by uploading their first track (GFOTY's "Bobby")—it seems they've achieved that goal. Sophie's "Lemonade" now soundtracks a McDonalds advert for lemonade.
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Mmmmm. The McDonalds advert confesses to selling "Real Lemonade" which makes me wonder what laxative ass-spray I've been drinking there before now. Aside from that though, it's perhaps the biggest signifier that PC Music are engaging with reality. As Cook explained in the interview with Rolling Stone, they may not be owned by an energy company but "PC Music is becoming its own brand, like the next Red Bull." This, coupled with their Now That's What I Call Music-style "debut album" of already released hits, the aforementioned energy drink, and branded live shows are proof that we are witnessing the dawn of PC Music Inc.You can find Ryan Bassil on Twitter.