Sell Out, Part One

So I was reading blogs the other day (as if you needed any more evidence of how big a geek I am), when I read this post. It struck a chord in me, since this is one of those questions with which I've grappled for a long time.

Not the hick thing. I'm from Ohio. I know hicks. And hicks are people, too.          :)

No, the thing that piqued my interest? Musicians selling out.

It's a classic scenario, right? Band records great album, sells 150 of them. Band then signs major label deal, makes vapid but radio-friendly album, allows Windex™ to use single in commercial, gets big and famous but has sold out, alienating 150 core fans. However, band is now adored by the Tiger Beat generation and the Baby Boomers and is making more money than it can piss away on beer, bourbon and hookers.

Perhaps this is a gross oversimplification, but you get the gist. I agree with batteryinyourleg's assertion that this is "selling out." But what's the difference between a rock group "selling out" and a rapper "gettin' paid?" Cultural vernacular? Marketing savvy? Simple intent?

You have two different musical aesthetics here. In rock, you get middle-class white kids rebelling against the establishment, doing it for the music (getting chicks has nothing to do with it, I'm sure), and keeping it real. In rap, you get poor black and Latino kids rebelling against the establishment, trying to get rich (while getting loads of ho's [sp?]), and keeping it real.

So does the whole selling out / gettin' paid debate boil down to a difference of socio-economic circumstance?

Not necessarily. You see, there's a common thread in the two descriptions: keeping it real. As batteryinyourleg pointed out (using Nirvana as an example), it's not selling out if you record something true to yourself and then the mainstream and advertisers come knocking on your door. Then, people are recognizing your musical genius (or, at least, your marketability).

Being embraced by the mainstream is one thing. Writing a song for a commercial? Well, that's the province of the schlocky jingle writers. Isn't it?

Case in point: Common's Gap ad (Sorry to link to the home page. The ad is in the lower right quadrant and has no direct link.). I wouldn't call Common a huge mainstream rapper, but he has a very devoted following. There's been some mixed reaction to his appearance, although the majority seems to think he sold out, big time.

I would have to agree. To me, this embodies the heart of selling out. While the music might not be any different, Common's now working with a company that has, in the past, advocated policies antithetical to his own. This really does seem to be a case of sleeping with the enemy, and if that's not selling out, I don't know what is. But I still dig the commercial, so the Gap got something right, right?

The true question here: will selling out actually increase Common's exposure / album sales? If you shill for a huge corporation but don't win the mainstream audience, I'd imagine you'd just want to kill yourself. While sitting on your big pile of money.

What if you start out with the express purpose of becoming rich and famous? Is there less musical commitment in rap or country, two genres in which becoming the biggest act on the planet is inarguably a good thing?

Has Jay-Z sold out by shilling for Budweiser? Even as he was name-dropping Cristal and Hennessy and all that shit? You have to forgive me if I don't hit all the cross-promotion right; I don't listen to Jay-Z, mainly because I easily tire of the crass over-commercialization.

But Jay-Z is the perfect case in point: he realizes that music is a powerful force for cross-promotion. And instead of just licensing his music to corporations, he's striking deals and gaining power. For a kid from Brooklyn's Marcy Projects, I imagine that he's living better than he could have dreamed growing up. And a million rappers want the same thing.

Is that selling out? Even if that was the goal in the first place?

I think it would be helpful to go back -- way back -- to when you first got into music, or more precisely, to when you wanted to be in a band. When you're a teenager, you join a band for five reasons:

1. To get girls
2. To play good music and express yourself
3. To become a rock star
4. To make a difference in the world, one fan at a time
5. To get girls

To me, this all just restates the obvious. We want to become rich and famous on our own terms.

Does the sellout debate then also apply to John Mellencamp? Either way, I'm going to buy a model of a Chevy truck so that I can throw it at the TV when I hear "Our Country" during the next football game I watch. But at first listen, the song sounds exactly like the rest of Señor Cougar's ouevre, and apparently, he did not write it just for Chevy.

This is an artist, whether you like his music or not, who has stuck to his guns his entire musical career. For God's sake, he basically told Reagan to go fuck himself. I have to assume that he subscribes to the theory of help-others-while-you-help-yourself (ignoring the fact that, while "Buy American" is a great sentiment, GM continues to fuck its workers [scroll down to hazelrah's comment]).

So yeah, he's probably sold out this time.

Hey, all. This one needs audience participation, so I'd like to see some comments, people. The next post on this topic: selling your old hits (The Stones, The Who, and the ever-greedy estate of the Beatles) and changing your musical style to fit the audience...