Viewing Thread:
"Question!"

Ok, I've seen a few posts from people saying things like "Oh, these bands aren't proper punk." Or, "Oh, they've sold out to the industry" etc.

So, here's a question for you:

What if you really liked an unknown band. You thought they were fantastic, and then one of their songs was used on an advert, and they became really big.

They still did the same style of music, but are now playing to Wembly and charging £30 a ticket.

Would you think they'd "sold out" to the industry. Would you think that now they were succesful they were no longer "Proper "?

I'm interested, please tell.

Your Honour wrote:
> I think that there's a certain "coolness" (if that's the right word),
> to liking unknown bands.

It's almost something to be proud of, "Hey, I
> know this band that hardly anyone knows, that shows I'm not sucked in by the
> whole industry.".

When that band becomes more popular, that person has
> no need to like them anymore. Everyone else has heard of them, and there are a
> few more new bands about. So he says something like "Oh, they sold out to
> the industry, I don't like them anymore".

He then moves on to another
> unheard of band and the whole process starts again...

I hope that wasn't directed at me... :-)

I think that there's a certain "coolness" (if that's the right word), to liking unknown bands.

It's almost something to be proud of, "Hey, I know this band that hardly anyone knows, that shows I'm not sucked in by the whole industry.".

When that band becomes more popular, that person has no need to like them anymore. Everyone else has heard of them, and there are a few more new bands about. So he says something like "Oh, they sold out to the industry, I don't like them anymore".

He then moves on to another unheard of band and the whole process starts again...

Yeah that is a good point.

While I like obscure bands like Capdown, Nerve and older bands like Operation Ivy and Minor Threat, I still like stuff like Greenday and Offspring (although it does have to be said that the Offsprings older stuff, Smash and Ixnay on the Hombre, probably their self titled one too is much better than their newer stuff). I don't think of these bands as selling out. I don't think that the 'If a band has a video on MTV2 they are sell-outs' is at all accurate either.

VenomByte wrote:
(That's the first time I've used the words 'like' and 'hearsay' in the same sentence..)

lol


While people endlessly moan about how image is more important than the music in pop, one thing i've noticed is ho important the image of liking obscure bands so as to seem to have more music knowledge, superior tastes etc., compared to the mainstream, who's preferred music, by definition, is pop. When a band gets successful, it destroys their 'superiority' unless they discredit the band and dissociate themselves. Limited to a few pretentious fools, and by no means everybody who likes 'obscure' bands, but the blatant blind hypocracy need pointing out.

i loved dookie i had the album since it first came out and i still listen to it. my favourite song on their is when i come around which is track number 10
brilliant song

Gaming Guy wrote:
There is no band in history that has been
> mainstream from the outset. Every band has to start from the bottom of the
> barrel, whether they like it or not.

Except the boy/girl bands of course. Like hear'say.

(That's the first time I've used the words 'like' and 'hearsay' in the same sentence..)

But selling out isn't the same as becoming successful!

If a band changes their sound to try to become more popular that is often called selling out. If a band gets big, but still has the same sound they did before they got popular you can't label them sell-outs but very often people are critical of them and say they are just re-using the tried formula, and milking it for all its' worth. That is why I am very cautious about ever calling any band sell-outs, and I prefer to listen to unheard of bands (but not crap unheard of bands!), but that doesn't mean if they get big I'll abandon then and say they're sell outs and they abandonned their hardcore fans.

But some bands have always been in the mainstream spotlight (manufactured bands, particularly that 1 from 'Popstars' TV show) and these bands often have no talent whatsoever and shouldn't even be called bands! I mean do any members of Steps of S-Club 7 play an instrument (on stage)? All they do is get mixers to try to cover uo the fact that they can't sing and try to look nice for the innocent little girlies (or should I say kiddies? I don't wanna be sexist :D) who only listen to the stuff on the radio and no 'real' music made by an actual band, and not written by someone, and sung by a bunch of pretty pop (or should that be pap?) stars.

Anyways I've kinda strayed from the subject a bit so I'll be leaving.

I don't think it's fair to say that when bands go mainstream, they "sell out". Just because a band gets their big break, it doesn't mean that they've buckled under the pressure. These people obviously have skills and talents, and they realise that. Their goal is to sell their music, have fun (if possible) and make a lot of money.

There is no band in history that has been mainstream from the outset. Every band has to start from the bottom of the barrel, whether they like it or not. Then, as they produce good songs, people buy their music, people buy their albums, word gets around and they get a large fanbase. Come on, in all honesty, can many (if any) of you say that if you were at the bottom, playing in bars etc, and someone came up and offered you a multi-million pound contract, that you wouldn't take it. Come on, anyone with common sense or without a damn decent escuse would take the offer, make money, whilst pleasing music fans at the same time.

When people say, "Oh, Green Day sold out", I feel like smacking them in the face. As I just said, in the same situation, can you say that you would turn down millions of pounds, purely for exerting your ready-made talents? I didn't think so. So, I hope that I've rectified this "sell out" business. If anyone is willing to aruge, I'll be here until 10pm, so voice your opinions now, or forever hold your peace (well, until I get up tomorrow, anyway!)

Thanks for reading.
Gaming Guy.

But does it matter if a band/ artist is taking money from the same large corporations that the ideals of the bands/ artists chosen genre of music is against? If a band who sing about corrupt corporations starts getting sponsored by, I dunno, Microsoft, or another huge multinational, they look kinda hypocritical, and their 'hardcore' fans may still love their music, but they feel the band has abondoned their principles.

I do like to listen to unheard of bands, and if I could buy one album, with the choice of two bands, both were recommended to me, but 1 band was unheard of and the other really big I'd get the unheard of, simply because it widens my knowledge of music, and I can probably borrow the CD of the 'big' band off some1 else. Also, if every1 only ever bought stuff by established bands then no new bands will ever get big!

I get really annoyed by people going on about selling out. Bands can't win anymore. I don't want to name any particular band cos it doesn't really matter who we talk about, just in general. Basically, a new band comes along with a killer album, everyone raves about it and the album sells well. They can't be a sellout cos the album is their first, so they haven't changed to sell more albums. Then they have to do the follow up album. They are now basically in a lose-lose situation. If they do more of the same stuff, people have already heard it, and will dismiss the band as one-dimensional. It doesn't matter if the album is good, people will always say, "Yeah, its OK....but the first one was much better". So bands change, they try to progress, and then people say they have gone too mainstream.

Or they can go the other way, as (and I know I said I wouldn't put in band names, but everyone will know who I'm talking about anyway) Radiohead did. Now I don't like their new style, but I do respect them for trying to follow their principles. It would have been easy to release another The Bends, sell a load more albums, go on another world tour, make loads more money, and keep doing that, because lets face it, no-one would have complained. But they stuck to their guns and came out with an album that divided opinion.

Music is there to stimulate people. The fact that some people like some music and others like different music is what makes it all interesting. If we all liked the same stuff life would be pretty boring. So who cares whether a band changes, goes more or less mainstream, if you like it, fine, if you don't I'm sure there will be another band queueing up to fill their shoes.