Selling Out, Dubstep and the Mainstream..

[heymanman]

Safe,
Before you give me one of those "not this thread again facepalm jump-offs", hear me out.

I read this article the other night, and it really got me thinking. Basically it to the whole system of music culture in general, plus a few other things.

http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/04/12/selling-out/

For those of you who think Rusko, or whoever 'sold out' I recommend this article.

[fractal]

Pretty much agree.


I still think this could have just been posted in one of the millions of threads on this topic, or at least be given a topic name that makes it not seem like "another one of those threads"

[ryan_p]

tl;dr

but what the fuck http://www.guitarflame.com/wp-content/u ... 68x665.jpg

[cosmic_surgeon]

Saying someone sold out is a way of saying they compromised their artistic integrity for more cash. Creating art is entirely different to making equipment (clothes, tools, etc) - selling it is a different deal. Each product is sold a different basis; tools on their function, clothes on their aesthetic or social value, cars on a mixture of both, and so on. Yet music is something different, it is sold on the basis of its artistic value. There are, obviously, consumers of music who want to be seen hearing a certain sound - their motivations for buying a product are different.

What's important and what I think the article misses is that it matters not if someone's making money off it, it could be Mala or it could be Donald Trump, but what is important with music is the artistic integrity. I don't mind paying for tunes from a major label so long as it's great music, but I wouldn't buy shit tunes from the smallest of labels. Selling out isn't a simple matter of jumping on a major label, it's about creating inauthentic works for increased profit.

Edit: Some people don't "shun the mainstream" for the sake of it, or even deliberately - some mainstream shit is good but mostly it's utter shite. Sometimes it happens as a matter of taste, and sometimes amazing things have mass appeal.

[heymanman]

Saying someone sold out is a way of saying they compromised their artistic integrity for more cash. Creating art is entirely different to making equipment (clothes, tools, etc) - selling it is a different deal. Each product is sold a different basis; tools on their function, clothes on their aesthetic or social value, cars on a mixture of both, and so on. Yet music is something different, it is sold on the basis of its artistic value. There are, obviously, consumers of music who want to be seen hearing a certain sound - their motivations for buying a product are different.

What's important and what I think the article misses is that it matters not if someone's making money off it, it could be Mala or it could be Donald Trump, but what is important with music is the artistic integrity. I don't mind paying for tunes from a major label so long as it's great music, but I wouldn't buy shit tunes from the smallest of labels. Selling out isn't a simple matter of jumping on a major label, it's about creating inauthentic works for increased profit.

agreed, interesting read to say the least right?

The article does have holes, but to my knowledge a lot of people listen to certain music just because its 'rare or exclusive' to them. The sad thing is that it applies to me as well and this article brought it to light in my eyes.

Countless times songs seem less special to me when mass people begin to like them. Maybe its just me, I don't know.

[heymanman]

Sometimes it happens as a matter of taste, and sometimes amazing things have mass appeal.

Radiohead? My only experience with a mainstream band that hasn't lost any value artistically/creatively while gaining a mass audience.

[fractal]

It's all really subjective tho, isn't it. If an artist wants to pander to the masses for money more power to them. It's up to us to decide two things: whether or not we are going to support/listen to the artist and whether or not wenare going to moan on the internets about it.

Nirvana was hugely popular, a lot of people said that they sold out, but at the end of the day they just made really good music for me to listen to as a teenager

imho

[Omega Dub]

great find, thanks for sharing.

I do agree with some of the other posts that ultimately, "selling out" is about the intentions of the artist. if someone is just making tunes solely in the hopes that they will make a lot of money off the of it, that i guess you can call them a sell out - but honestly, how often does anyone really know what the artist's intentions are? Tons of pretentious music types just assume waaay to much, based on their own perceptions, without ever really knowing anything about what the artist is thinking/feeling.

Plus, the idea that any artist is 100% focused on their own artistic expression, with no concern for any possible audience (and hence "market" in some respect), just strikes me as silly. We are social creatures, and we can't help but care what those around us think. And even if an artist was utterly devoted to their own internal creative process, with absolutely no concern for what anyone else thinks or feels, i don't personally think that would be something to admire. I think it would fall somewhere between masturbation and solipsism... and while i respect both of those as legitimate pursuits, i don't think they should be put on a pedestal either.

[DREdio]

although every professional musician is exactly that, a professional who needs to make a living by producing music, i feel that a great deal of them, at some point in their career, begin to make music for reasons other than the simple joy of doing what they love. whether it is to make more money, gain more public exposure, etc. doesnt really matter because it almost always results in an inferior product.

[chaserawr]

I think the point he (the article) is trying to make is that Dubstep, Rusko, Whatever wouldnt be popular or mainstream unless YOU starting looking for it. And you started playing it out, telling your friends about it. YOU are the result of Dubstep being popular.
If Nirvana never got popular and "sold out" then we still all be listening to it because it was so underground and cool.

[scattybeanhead]

very good article, very true. but tbh all the people that like stuff just because it's unheard of are the proper douchebags as clearly if you stop liking an artist because they become popular then you're not much of a fan at all. surely if something becomes really popular can that not just be because it's actually really good?

[promo]

I would say there are a lot of folks who follow music on the basis of it being 'cool' as oppose to it being any good. That said I'm not going to say I or anyone else here are beyond trends or hype because that would be lying. Basically a genuine listener enjoys something whatever its status is e.g I really have a liking for Meat Loaf and Celine Dion.