Do you think bands have "sold out" when they get big and get signed?

Question

A lot of people like a band when they are unknown, then stop liking them when they get big! I think this is ridicoulous. You might like the older music better, but why abandon a band, just because more people like them??

Answer 1

i will agree there.. i like music, i never think of someone being "sold out" when they make it big, thats what most bands want, people to hear there music, well why would you be sold out for letting millions hear your music? i dont understand either. i worked for a band when i lived in massachusettes and got into the underground scene, if anyone of them would have made it i would have been extremely excited for them! Godsmack played one album for 5 years before getting signed, and the band i worked for was there the night they got signed. it just made them want to work harder to get there!

oh i think when someone "sells out" is when they convert to something just because the media wants them that way!

Answer 2

I never got that either. Aerosmith sucked when they were an unknown and just sucked bigger when they were famous (you can tell I don't like heavy metal). Prince had really good music even after he signed on. Then after what, 2 or 3 albums?, he decided to do his own thing (ick). When you sign on to a record deal, you are also an investment. If you are not a commercial success, that's a lot of money that isn't yours down the bucket.

Answer 3

No. Still some non-musical types plan their lives around getting big in music, instead of for the music. If they were hanging around born musicians without ambition, it can at first not be obvious that what sounds appealing is like robbery from those who are born for it, but can't hang with letting it be a job.
When non-musical ambitious get signed, and with the hype, they may get popular and make money, but subsequent releases show them as average people partying for popularity; hence I would no longer be receptive to the product.

I think that any of us that like music have, first, an inborn proclivity, and, second, an experiential bent for particular types of music, unless exposed to many different types of music in the first few years of life. If I like a band, it is because it is "my type" of music. As long as their management or backing (recording companies) are not tampering with them, then I stick with the attraction. If those musicians with big recording contracts give in to manipulation, then, I admit, it can cause me to lose interest in all of their music.

Answer 4

No, they don't sell out. Look at Tool for example, they control their music. It's the bands that let the producers decide what they write that sell out. The older music generally has better music because no one told them what to do. In my opinion Gwen Stephani sold out. She dropped her roots for the "Producers *****" role, but in the long run bands that stick with it even after being signed usually have even more control.

Answer 5

It really depends on the band, but you're right; a band shouldn't automatically be discredited because they are on a major label. The Clash and The Ramones were on major labels, and they managed to stay great... plus; I'd rather see a band use up a big corporation's money than use up their friend's or friend's mom's money to record in the basement!

Answer 6

No not at all. Better yet they are even better when they get so big they get their own label like RUSH Anthem Records.
Record company's are soon to disappear. Get a good image so you can put it on a t shirt cause that's where the money is at.
The kids don't like bands to make money. They like bands when there homeless and hungry struggling.

Answer 7

it depends on how much they compromise themselves as a band and the sound they've created to gather a true following.

take MCR for example. Love them with a passion. This new album... smart. mainstream. pop. radio play.

Do i like it? Not really. And nowhere NEAR as much as the old stuff.

But i still love the music.

As long as you keep the music and your true fans as your focus, your band will go far. Best of luck!

Answer 8

I agree, just because a band gets more fans doesnt men you should stop liking them.If you like a band it should be a good thing that they get signed and are making the big bucks.

Answer 9

I really don't care whether the bands will sell out or not. I am here for the music. Bach and Mozart played for dukes, princes and kings. Marin Marais was Louis XIV court composer. Yet, they created beautiful music that still lives today.

Answer 10

People do that because they want to be different from each other except since there are so many people like that they really aren't different anymore.
I like music that isn't popular anymore and personally I would love it if it was more popular. So if all of the sudden everyone started liking the music I like I wouldn't change what I like just because its popular.