John Legend, on striking the right balance.

Question: How do you retain your credibility while doing commercials?

John Legend:  That is a challenge, and every artist has to figure out the right balance. You don’t want to represent a brand that dishonors your name, that cheapens you. But you also know that, in this climate, with record sales going down and with record labels spending a lot less money on marketing, we need to find other marketing partners to get our music out. And so I’ve entered into strategic partnerships with different brands in order to get my music out to people. And I only do it with brands that I think reflect well on me, and that respect my fans and my music, and want to put out messages that are consistent with my music and with the taste of my fans.

Recorded on: Jan 29, 2008