Is it possible to play on a major label and not "sell out"?

Group Question :: Punk

Is it possible to play on a major label and not "sell out"?

by Brian Kemp Posted December 19, 2008 17:01:56

9 answers
Read all 24 comments
+4 raves

Just curious what the rest of you think. I mean, if a band gets paid but doesn't change their style, is it selling out?

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	Yes, taking the money is always selling out. 0% 0 votes
	It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots. 67% 6 votes
	Undecided 33% 3 votes

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Top Comment

+3 raves xpunkox December 23, 2008 18:16:04

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
In the old days major labels meant horrbile music and corporate moral. These days everything has become so convoluted that it doesn't neccessary mean so. Bands jump to the biggies then jump back, never changing. Morals seemingly intact. Even the indies we loved so much in days passed have become ruthless money machines. sniff sniff
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+1 raves
Guy Mann Dude-In Metal I Tr... July 11, 2009 02:46:58

$Guy Mann Dude-In Metal I Trust \☻/$
Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
Yeah its not selling out as long as you stay true to your roots and dont cater to the mainstream.
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to Guy Man... July 11, 2009 03:37:17

I agree, but what if your sound is fairly mainstream to begin with?
+1 raves
Guy Man... to Brian Kemp July 11, 2009 03:38:48

$Guy Mann Dude-In Metal I Trust \☻/$
Then usually your pop and pop bands cant sell out because thier supposed to be in the mainstream.
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to Guy Man... July 13, 2009 11:59:15

I agree, but what if the mainstream sound changes to a style different from one the pop band is currently playing, say going from funky or soulful to a more heavy sound, and they shift with that? Are they then selling out?
+1 raves
Guy Man... to Brian Kemp July 13, 2009 15:55:40

$Guy Mann Dude-In Metal I Trust \☻/$
Hmmm I dont think so because selling out gets you more fans and if a pop band started doing somthing less mainstream they would have alot less fans.
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to Guy Man... July 14, 2009 13:08:26

I get what you are saying, but what if what is considered mainstream changes? Like it did in the early nineties with the advent of Grunge?
+1 raves
Guy Man... to Brian Kemp July 14, 2009 15:44:17

$Guy Mann Dude-In Metal I Trust \☻/$
yeah sorta like that.
+1 raves
lowerclassrock666 July 09, 2009 05:11:57

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
if they sing the same stuff and be who they are then no
Brian Kemp to lowercl... July 10, 2009 21:02:16

That's my opinion, as well.
+1 raves
lowercl... to Brian Kemp July 10, 2009 22:08:03

yeah and there is some bands on a major label that havent sold out
+1 raves
Milk Maid Dud Bean June 14, 2009 15:33:50

Answered: Undecided
It depends on the artist. I'm thinking that when people like J.G. Thirlwell or Rufus Wainwright (although they are not punk) get major label backing, it's an opportunity to hear their artistic vision truly fleshed out. I'm glad Sony released the Foetus album "Gash", I don't think there's anything "sell-out" about it. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion didn't have to change labels to release something shiny and commercial like the aptly-titled "Plastic Fang".
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to Milk Ma... June 18, 2009 18:06:38

I think that your thoughts are similar to mine, in that artists who join a major and keep doing what they do aren't selling out, whatever the style of music they play is.
+1 raves
Milk Ma... to Brian Kemp June 19, 2009 01:48:31

Yes, I don't begrudge anyone recognition or expect them not to grow and change musically, but they have to stay true to themselves rather than some corporate formula, wherever it may lead.
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to Milk Ma... June 20, 2009 21:02:08

I completely agree.
+1 raves
GONE4GOOD February 27, 2009 02:31:43

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
all i can say is green day never forgot from where theycame but this was not the way they were treated by the genre. they called them sell outs because they made it out of the underground and got paid. hypocracy humans can't seem to live without it
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to GONE4GOOD February 27, 2009 16:04:45

You got that right. I remember when Jello Biafra got beat up at Gilmore st., when the knuckleheads were calling him a rock star. The dude was a punk when being a punk meant getting into fist fights almost daily, and now the little goofs are attacking him? He still just runs his own little independent record label, but now he's a "rock star"?
+2 raves
1088799 January 10, 2009 22:08:32

Answered: Undecided
Define "major label". Define "selling out".
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to 1088799 January 11, 2009 16:34:57

Major label being one of the large, corporately owned record labels (including the smaller subsidiaries of those labels), selling out being compromising values for monetary gain.
+3 raves
xpunkox December 23, 2008 18:16:04

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
In the old days major labels meant horrbile music and corporate moral. These days everything has become so convoluted that it doesn't neccessary mean so. Bands jump to the biggies then jump back, never changing. Morals seemingly intact. Even the indies we loved so much in days passed have become ruthless money machines. sniff sniff
+1 raves
Brian Kemp to xpunkox December 23, 2008 18:43:51

Less than Jake is a really good band. Also, I agree with you.
JESTER576 December 20, 2008 21:41:20

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
Rigor Mortis was signed with Capitol and they never sold out.
+1 raves
Fef December 20, 2008 02:04:22

Answered: It's not selling out if you stay true to your roots.
Few bands can do it, but you can sign a band to a major label and not sell out. I think the Red Hot Chili Peppers prove it. They actually disappointed the label early in the 80s by not selling records because they stayed true to their roots. The label didn't like that.
+2 raves
Brian Kemp to Fef December 20, 2008 20:08:59 (edited)

Yeah, I might be in the minority here, but I thought Green Day actually got better when they signed with the majors. They didn't disappoint in the sales department, but I thought their songs got better.
The Chili Peppers are another good example.
+1 raves
diaverde08-MolecularGastron... December 19, 2008 19:22:30

Answered: Undecided
Probably not.