The sellout thread!

[Alongside Death]

The purpose of this thread is to discuss about situations in metal bands that can be called a sellout. I talked about it with my friends and majority of them said that many announcements can considered as sellout.

Situation #1: A big part of metal bands says something like "our new album will be more brutal than our any earlier work" - is this a good promotion or a total sellout?

Situation #2: Let's say that Dimmu Borgir asked Hellhammer to play with them because they wanted to check how the band sounds with him, and they wanted to check if for example Mayhem fans want to try In Sorte Diaboli album. In other words a band recruits a world famous musician - sellout or not sellout?

Situation #3: A band announces that they album will be a bit different, some kind of experiment to create a new climate in the new album - sellout?

Situation #4:A band announces that they leave Unmatched Brutality Records and signs with Nuclear Blast Records - sellout or not?

Ofcourse there could be more examples but I can't come up with any other right now.

Do you agree that the best way for a band to avoid the sellout opinions is to just announce the date of new album releasement, stay silent, just play concerts on tours and not change line up unless it is necessary.


Real life example:
At the beginning of Metallica`s global carrier the men played thrash metal. It was their main piece of music although they could not play that. Hammett said that they knew that back in the years the crowd would simply not buy it so they changed the style for over 10 years. So basically as they succeeded they started playing heavier metal by the years. Well,at least if we count out the stupid ballads they made! So basically what Kirk Hammett said was that the St.Anger was actually the first real Metallica album cuz it was the earliest type of music they started playing for a living.Ofcourse, they could create that since they have been a success through the nineties. Wouldn`t make a big difference for them if St.Anger was a TOTAL bummer anyway. The nineties Metallica wasn`t the real one until St.Anger, making some music for money IMO.

 

[Hatebreeder]

Situation #1: A big part of metal bands says something like "our new album will be more brutal than our any earlier work" - is this a good promotion or a total sellout?

No. Bands always try to outdo themselves and most bands who say this aren't in any danger of getting massively popular anyway.

Situation #2: Let's say that Dimmu Borgir asked Hellhammer to play with them because they wanted to check how the band sounds with him, and they wanted to check if for example Mayhem fans want to try In Sorte Diaboli album. In other words a band recruits a world famous musician - sellout or not sellout?

In this case, the new fanbase that DB is trying to appeal to is pretty small and won't boost their career too much, so it's not really selling out. Besides, expanding your horizons is rarely a bad thing.

Situation #3: A band announces that they album will be a bit different, some kind of experiment to create a new climate in the new album - sellout?

Until you hear the music that they are experimenting with, you can't really accuse of band of selling out. Sometimes doing a 180 in musical approach is a blessing to a tired, stale band.

Situation #4:A band announces that they leave Unmatched Brutality Records and signs with Nuclear Blast Records - sellout or not?

Plenty of good bands have signed to Nuclear Blast and continued to release good music, so I'll say no on this one. Plus, more people are exposed to the music, and bands thrive on this.

Do you agree that the best way for a band to avoid the sellout opinions is to just announce the date of new album release, stay silent, just play concerts on tours and not change line up unless it is necessary.

It's okay if they do that, but self-promotion is not necessarily selling out. To me, selling out is taking advantage of hugely popular trends against an artist's musical ethics to increase sales. These examples aren't really hinting at that.

 

[Vitor]

no, thanks

 

[Hell Mike]

Swordmaster -> Deathstars is a prime example of a big fat failure of a sellout, and Metallica is the best one of a successful job. Selling out in the heavy metal world means making your music more accessible in order to make dineros. To me, music is art or sometimes just fun and not business, but there's a difference between trying to make a living (still not something I desire from music) and getting rich.

 

[Thasis]

Now what if a band is playing let's say Black Metal and they switch to doing Melodic Black Metal because they like the sound more. They start getting more popular because of this, but the real reason they switched was of personal prefrence. Sell-out or not? A lot of hardcore black metallers would say yes, but I find they aren't really selling out as they are switching do to personal taste.

So now take this to Metallica. I don't know as much as I'd like to know on their situation with genre mutation, but maybe they made their switch not only from a financial situation, but from a personal taste situation. I know their was financial factors, but would they be playing the music they are playing now if they didn't enjoy it.

I dunno, maybe I'm going off on a diffrent tangent.

 

[AchrisK]

no, thanks

x2

 

[MasterOLightning]

I think it's funny how people get so upset with Metallica. What else was there left to do with the style of thrash they were playing? They obviously couldn't touch Megadeth in speed or technicality but there was no need to.

 

[Rabid Headbanger]

I think it's funny how people get so upset with Metallica. What else was there left to do with the style of thrash they were playing? They obviously couldn't touch Megadeth in speed or technicality but there was no need to.

Kill em all 2.

You know you wanted it.

 

[Vossyrus]

I agree with Hatebreeder.

To me sellout is a band who sacrifices their own artistic abilities and creative potential in order to make money and gain popularity by compromising their sound for one that is more accessible and appealing to a larger more mainstream audience...keywords being 'compromising their sound' which is not always the same thing as when a band that changes their style/sound on purpose. Many bands do not like the stagnant approach to making music, and let's not forget everyone evolves from time to time. And Just because a band is popular doesn't mean the band has sold out - its inevitable that a band's fanbase will increase over time.

And so it doesn't surprise me that many early black metal bands abandoned traditional black metal sound in order for something different or whatever naturally progressed from it. If I was part of the early black metal scene, why would I want to produce more music in that fashion when thousands of bands would come to do the same thing?

 

[The Heartbreak Kid]

I think it's funny how people get so upset with Metallica. What else was there left to do with the style of thrash they were playing? They obviously couldn't touch Megadeth in speed or technicality but there was no need to.

Thank you. I dont give a shit if a band sells out or not.

 

[Hell Awaits Us All]

I think it's funny how people get so upset with Metallica. What else was there left to do with the style of thrash they were playing? They obviously couldn't touch Megadeth in speed or technicality but there was no need to.

by itself, speed or technicality doesn't really mean anything

 

[ohiogrinder]

Thank you. I dont give a shit if a band sells out or not.

well you like hair metal, so if the shoe fits....

 

[ohiogrinder]

when I think of sellout, one word comes to mind:

Ulver

 

[MasterOLightning]

Yes, because Ulver has had great financial success with their recent releases.

 

[ohiogrinder]

Yes, because Ulver has had great financial success with their recent releases.

is that sarcasm I detect?

if so, SUCK MY DICK!

 

[Koude Haat]

bands that "sell out" were probably not worth listening to in the first place.

Yes, because Ulver has had great financial success with their recent releases.

 

[IOfTheStorm]

I dont give a shit if a band sells out or not.

Amen

 

[~Derek~]

I agree with Hatebreeder.

To me sellout is a band who sacrifices their own artistic abilities and creative potential in order to make money and gain popularity by compromising their sound for one that is more accessible and appealing to a larger more mainstream audience...keywords being 'compromising their sound' which is not always the same thing as when a band that changes their style/sound on purpose. Many bands do not like the stagnant approach to making music, and let's not forget everyone evolves from time to time. And Just because a band is popular doesn't mean the band has sold out - its inevitable that a band's fanbase will increase over time.

And so it doesn't surprise me that many early black metal bands abandoned traditional black metal sound in order for something different or whatever naturally progressed from it. If I was part of the early black metal scene, why would I want to produce more music in that fashion when thousands of bands would come to do the same thing?

I agree, though someone that "sells out" isn't so bad in certian circumstances, Satyricon is considered to have sold out. but their music is still very good even if they are sell-outs.

 

[Hell Mike]

when I think of sellout, one word comes to mind:

Ulver

Actually I'd say Ulver is a band that changed (Or evolved if you will) but didn't sell out. That is possible as well even if the cases where I like both the before- and after-stages equally are rare.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

by itself, speed or technicality doesn't really mean anything

nope, just that Megadeth > Metallica in every way shape and form.

and for the love of Anubis! fix your sig!!!!!