I remember some 20-30 years ago you would sometimes hear about an artist (usually musician, or a group thereof) being sellouts, or having sold out. This of course in a pejorative way, as this was the most heinous of crimes an artist could ever commit against their fan base.
However, I can’t recall having heard this term for at least a couple of decades. Has the term been replaced with something else? Is it more accepted? Or is it simply so hard to make it nowadays that the concept of “selling out” is basically just synonymous with making a living?
Are there any modern examples of this and I simply missed the online chatter about it?
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If your idols are youtubers and tiktokkers, their business model is selling merch.
So opinions had to change.
When I was younger I’d frown upon artists making a pop record. Now that I know most working bands often barely scrape by and often get screwed over by labels and promoters, etc., I can’t really fault them for it. And usually they’ll keep making what they want on the side anyway.
I think the plot was lost when the piracy/drm wars reached a peak and set new norms. The ‘talent’ that emerged steadily became performers rather than artists and put out disposable, largely formulaic pop made with protools.
Nearly all the mainstream now are what many would have called sellouts prior to all this.
Maybe there will be a move back to quality over quantity. Granted quality music is still being made, but by and large the current listener just wants to jump from the current sensation to the next after the staleness sets in.
Long story long the internet changed a lot of things, attention spans are eroded, and we’re still learning how to deal with all of it.
Because for a lot of people who aspire to be artists don’t want to hear about how its about the money and not the art
Because most people recognize “selling out” is the end goal for many acts. Why shouldn’t the act that can make enough to retire young on not go for that option if that is what they want for themselves?
A lot if the people bitching about selling out and authenticity in the 1990s were kids who did not have bills to pay.
Does Snoop Dogg performing for the Trump crypto ball or whatever the shit that was count as selling out?
Absolutely yes it does.
When He didnt Show up on Kendricks Pop out I got curios. When He showed up at the olympics I knew something was afoot.
Now everything is clear.
Oh God, I did not hear about that one. God dammit.
You haven’t been listening to enough Reel Big Fish lately?
I don’t think I’ve heard anything newer than 20 years by them. Ska isn’t my primary taste in music, but they had a few bangers way back when. And yes, this includes “sell out”.
the rich bought all the fuckers who were going to sell out back in the 00’s.
Everyone aspires to sell out.
To quote Tool:
I’ve got some bad advice for you, little buddy
Before you point your finger, you should know that I’m the man
If I’m the fuckin’ man, then you’re the fuckin’ man as well
So you can point that fuckin’ finger up your assAll you know about me is what I’ve sold ya, dumb fuck
I sold out long before you’d ever heard my name
I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit
And then you bought oneAll you read and wear or see and hear on TV
Is a product begging for your fat-ass, dirty dollar
Shut up and buy, buy, buy my new record
And buy, buy, buy, send more moneyBecause selling out is the standard in America now.
It’s not noteworthy to sellout anymore. It’s expected.
“I didn’t sell out son, I bought in“
‘Only posers die!’
Indie won the war and “selling out” to a big company is now just a simple business decision and not having your hand forced to participate.
we do hear about ‘industry plants’, however…
Came here to mention industry plants, too. There’s no “selling out” for the most part because most major artists are controlled from day one by the industry, versus back in the day when they needed to scrape their knuckles on their own to appeal to a major label. Social media and The Algorithm lets the labels build careers out of nothing.
Echoing what others have said, I think most people realize how hard it is to make a living in the arts. I think another part of it is with the recent awareness for workers rights, the idea of being a ‘starving artist’ has lost its glamour.
