Selling Out
At any given moment, whenever a band starts to sell more records, switch to a bigger label, play bigger venues, or embrace a poppier sound, there is always whisperings (although, in some cases shouting) of "selling out", a term thrown around far too often if you ask me.
Unless a band actually changes their musical aesthetic in order to become more popular, aka, make more money, it is not "selling out" This means..
Selling T-Shirts at hot topic
Selling music to commercials
Changing style
Being played on MTV/radio
Is not selling out unless the music has been deliberately changed in order to sell more albums. This is impossible to prove since the only people in the world who know whether or not a band truly sold out is the bands themselves, who will never admit it. Hypothetically they could have changed their style to mirror the mainstream because they wanted to move in that direction anyway.
This is why its pretty much impossible to prove a band technically "sold out", and also relatively difficult to argue that a band has, especially since theres always resistance, since the inherent goal of selling out is to gain more fans, fans which will defend the bands new direction.
Kevin Barnes wrote an interesting article on it a while back, in it he mentioned:
"The pseudo-nihilistic punk rockers of the 70's created an impossible code in which no one can actually live by. It's such garbage. The idea that anyone who attempts to do anything commercial is a sell out is completely out of touch with reality. The punk rock manifesto is one of anarchy and intolerance. The punk rockers polluted our minds. They offered a solution that had no future. Of course, if the world would have ended before Sandinista! was released then everything would have been alright. It didn't. Now we have all of these half-conceived ideas and idiot philosophies floating around to confuse and alienate us. I think it is important to face reality. It is important to decide whether you are going to completely rail against the system or find a way to make it work for you. You cannot do both -- and if you attempt to do both you will only become even more bitter and confused"
Later in the essay he defends selling his music to Outback Steakhouse. But my question for musicbanter is: Who can we say with relative certaintity has "sold out" in the true sense of the term?
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