The Moby Quotient: Attaching a Value to "Selling Out"

This story was published in the Washington Post back in October - but I'm seeing it for the first time today. "The Moby Quotient" - as the Post calls it - draws its name from techno artist Moby, who famously licensed nearly every song on his 1997 record, Play, to films, television and commercials. (The name does not derive from underappreciated sixties rock group, Moby Grape). An equation is created from a formula that measures such distinctions as "sacredness" of the song, as well as the disconnect between the artist and the product the song is pushing. For instance, for its use in a car commercial, "London Calling" scores exceptionally high, whereas, for Fall Out Boy, the score is pretty low.