SELLING OUT

http://four-pins.com/life/selling-out/

To compromise one's integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for personal gain is the basis of selling out. In terms of music, it could be changing one's own image or sound to tailor to the commercial audience or to sign on to a major record deal. It's easy for hipsters to damn artists feel their ego become inflated when they say “I was a fan of them before they became mainstream”; however, the other side is that these artists need to eat. No doubt there are countless garage bands who have had to disband because life got in the way. These bands loved what they did, however, the money they received was insufficient and had to seek or focus on support themselves and family. From the outset, it would be an extreme understatement to say that it is very difficult for an artist, not just a musician, to get noticed and to build an audience to continue to support what you are doing. Ultimately publishers and distribution companies are there to carry the yolk of burden to free these artists so that they may focus on their art and craft.

Art is a subjective word, as the definition states it is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. As well, it is work that is produced with such skill and imagination. A more fitting definition comes from “The Devil's Dictionary” by Ambrose Bierce which states that this word has not definition. The point being is that literally everything could be considered art, further the credibility and merit of such art completely up to the beholder. In relation to the supposed sell out of an artist, it is again up to the consumer to determine if the artist has compromised all meaning to their art. Critically acclaimed art may not hold the same resonance to everyone and other art that are overlooked or despised may do more for such people. Ultimately, everyone enjoys art in one form or another, however, not everyone enjoys it the same or even can widely accept an art piece. When people become angry at a band who has changed their sound, they immediately cry sell out in certain cases, however, the inverse is beating the same four chords to the ground and hindering the artist's or band's growth and discovery. This is not to say that these groups do not feel the pressure of the major labels to change their sound into something the mainstream would appreciate, but sometimes that proves to be the better. Look no further than Nirvana's debut album “Bleach”, which is distilled grunge rock and listenable and compare that to the next album and most acclaimed album of the 1990s “Nevermind.” As well, signing on to a major label doesn't immediately suggest sell out, as the very truth is that major labels help artists spread their music out to the mainstream and spreads their message to people who may not be like minded.

The very clear and present selling out is when it involves advertisement, which by its very nature contributes to commercialism and devalues the integrity and meaning behind the song used in the advertising. The argument could be made that supporting an advertiser would only further their music to audiences who would not have caught wind of it otherwise. It's unfortunate that it has become so widely accepted that consumers barely notice it any longer. Even self proclaimed opponents of selling out are ironically found in the same damning position. This is the subject of John Densmore's The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison's Legacy Goes On Trail in which he fights his other musical partners to retain a sense of decency and integrity for their music and their fallen band member.

Perhaps the biggest poster child when it comes to sell outs within the music industry would have to be Metallica, who are also arguably the biggest metal band today. Along with Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, this band was a founding member of a new kind of metal called thrash with fast tempos and an overall aggressive sound. The subject of their lyrics continued the metal tradition of dissatisfaction and anger with the status quo and includes themes of religion, rage, military, government, insanity, monsters, and drugs. That said, they took a turn with their fifth album release with perhaps the most mainstream album, their self-titled album also known as the black album, where the sound took a notable change. Years later, it became apparent that the core values of the band had changed or that they were only in it for the money as the band attempted to sue fans downloading their music through Napster back in the early 2000s. This opens another can of worms discussing the moral implications of pirating and artists receiving their right dues from the record company, however, ultimately the concern should not be receiving every penny from people listening to their music, but drawing in more fans and listeners that might not have discovered the music through financial instability. Given that, does that not mean that their efforts of late have lost the merits of their early work, which has influenced future generations of fans and musicians and ushered in thrash metal along with the other members of the Big Four? Does that mean that the music they produced today is completely non-authentic if their objective is to raise profits?