Karice

I am proud of Young MC for not selling out with his Ain't Going Out Like That Album. He said the music industry wanted him to sell out and be part of the hip hop and rap fad that was extremely popular in 2000 like Ludacris, Juvenile, Jay-Z, and JA Rule but he refused to sell out and remained true to his self and made Ain't Going Out Like That Album which was similar to his 80's album. In 2000 the 80's music was considered passe but Young MC decided to stick with what he was, not sell out to the 2000's hot fad. Interestingly enough three of the hot fad artists are considered irrelevant has beens today(Ludacris , Ja rule, and Juvenile, and only Jay-Z is considered relevant today) whereas Young MC is STILL considered a legend to this day. He did the right thing by not selling out to the 2000's hot fad and sticking to his true self.

benjaminhart

I'd add Tom Morello to this list. After Rage, he could have gone the easy commercial route, but his Nightwatchman folk material and his activism work stayed true to his principles. It's rare to see someone walk away from that much money and keep going on their own terms.

SweetHeartHolly

The Sawyer Brown band never sold out. They have always been true to what they want to be known for.

God bless you and each past and present member always!!!

Holly (a girl who was raised on their music)

Stille

I constantly talk about a band called Sleep, and their song/album Dopesmoker. I say 'song/album' because the one track is an hour long. There is only one other song on the album, and it's just five minutes. Anyway, when they recorded this legendary piece of stoner metal, their record company wasn't happy with it. But Sleep refused to edit it at all, or give their permission for it to be released in any edited form. They ended up disbanding rather than sacrificing their creative vision. I think that's pretty cool.

Karice

The Ojay's pointed out that money is just a small piece of paper. I had a fictional band (Not Cake Cream) where the Manager wanted his Band to throw away who they REALLY were for(An 80's sounding metal band in the current year) for money and a chance at the Hall Of Fame(By turning them into the current hot fad). The lead Singer, Sydney Parks said no, but the rest of the band said yes and kicked out Sydney out of his own band! A Poster responded something like,"The Manager wanted his Band to throw away who they REALLY were for money and fame and a chance at the Hall Of Fame? This Manager seems sketchy."

befuddledtruffle

Respect to anyone who turned down the easy money — meanwhile I would sell out for a sandwich and a moderately nice parking spot, so this thread is basically a character witness for musicians with actual principles.

jadis

I feel like "selling out" is a very Gen X idea. Haven't heard it as much since let's say 2008.

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