"They sold out"

[nadroj1985]

Let's throw a little perspective on this.

I do construction as a side job.
I hate doing drywall. So I generally don't take on basement finishes.
I love building decks, so I advertise myself as a deck builder.
This summer I didn't get a single deck job but I had 4 people ask me to finish their basements.
But I'm not a "Basement finisher" I thought. I need the money in order to get by though and people want a finished basement.
SO, I finished their basements and now I'm a sellout.

Music is no different. Many bands don't do very well when audience tastes change so they try to keep up with the mainstream. The problem is this: We have bands that we really like and we buy their stuff. We're used to hearing a certain style from that band. THen the band changes it's style in order to sell more records, otherwise they'll have to sell the Ferrari. So now they sound like a different band and we hate them because they sold out. But they get to keep the Ferrari.

Question:
If you had a Ferarri, would you give it up for me?

You have to remember, Muzikdude, that you are talking to a lot of idealistic young adults We like to think that our favorite bands have some sort of artistic integrity -- that they themselves want to make the music they want to make more than they want that Ferrari. I'm not looking for an artist to cater to my tastes, necessarily. I just want them to express themselves as honestly and creatively as possible, and generally that leads to a lot of what I consider good music. That kind of music doesn't often happen, though, when a new Ferrari is the motive behind the creation of the art.

 

[Qyöt27]

My personal take on the issue is really a moot one in this case. As long as I like how the music stands on its own (without regards to the band's other material) I'll probably like it. I could care less about the artist's intent or idealogy; the only thing I care about is the quality of their music, and how well the intent of the song's lyrics come through. While those lyrics may reflect the artist's idealogy for a time, I don't cement that in stone as the only position that artist is ever going to have on the issue. Just look at how many bands have been said to have "sold-out", when they never even had a chance to hit the mainstream (even with the new style), and it seems more like the band just recorded an album that a lot of their fans didn't like.

IMO, if the artist is making the music he/she wants to make and isn't catering to fans (which is what I would say the definition of 'sell-out' is), it benefits everyone in the end because the artist isn't being stuck in one place to try to please a fanbase only accustomed to one style the artist has happened to play for a few years or whatnot. Don't get me wrong, 'catering to fans' could very well encompass letting a record company walk all over you to process your next hit which would be bought by millions of dumbfounded, salivating consumer drones, but I don't tend to judge a song's worth by the popularity of it on the mainstream or the amount of change from the artist's earlier material it is. I look at it more from the viewpoint of 'how good is the music by itself, with no regards to due process'. I've found that by looking at it that way, I can enjoy any type of music much more.

 

[Mϋzikdϋde]

You have to remember, Muzikdude, that you are talking to a lot of idealistic young adults We like to think that our favorite bands have some sort of artistic integrity -- that they themselves want to make the music they want to make more than they want that Ferrari. I'm not looking for an artist to cater to my tastes, necessarily. I just want them to express themselves as honestly and creatively as possible, and generally that leads to a lot of what I consider good music. That kind of music doesn't often happen, though, when a new Ferrari is the motive behind the creation of the art.

Yeah...I guess I just should have said that music is an industry and sometimes compromises need to be made between artistic integrity and business.

 

[oldrooster]

Thank heaven the Grateful Dead never sold out.....other than concerts....

 

[cygnusx1]

I don't get the idea that a band can 'sell out'............because they do what they want , there is a deal between the punter and the artist and that is you take your money and buy said product , then if you don't like the next album or image you ignore it or buy something else.

When we pay for an album we are merely transferring something that we have earned by being good at whatever it is for something by someone else who is good at what they do.
We have no more say in it than that.
Why do fans expect anything more?
We don't own these artists and they should remain free to express themselves.
It's just a transaction not a marriage.