• New York Times , Tuesday, July 6, 2010 10:35 AM

Lady Gaga is at the forefront of yet another trend, it appears: The increasing incorporation of brand pitches into music videos. Her "Telephone" video with Beyoncé includes (purposely conspicuous) product placements from Miracle Whip, Virgin Mobile and other brands, but she's hardly alone.

Product placement in recorded music grew 8% in 2009 compared with 2008, while overall paid product placement declined 2.8%, according to a new report by PQ Media.

There are at least two reasons for the trend, Joseph Plambeck reports. First, videos have moved from TV to the Internet. Second, record labels hope to make videos a revenue source and not just a marketing tool for selling CDs. But at Atlantic Records, at least, musicians have the final say over whether a product will be included, says Jonathan Feldman, vp for brand partnerships. Atlantic has turned down alliances that aren't a good fit.

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