What is Sellout?
1.
1. When an artist conforms to the way record labels, managers, etc see them to make money through commercial success and generally not the original fan base.
2. When an artist conforms to the way they believe their fan base see's them.
3. When an artist gets too big for their own good, and believe that they are god(s) and can do anything they want.
4. When an artist changes their play style to make more money
5. An artist which no longer does it for the fans
1. Metallica (90's).
2. The Darkness.
3. Metallica.
4. Metallica.
5. Metallica
2.
A vague but derogatory term blindly used by music "fans" to describe bands who make (or have managers who make) a new lucrative and/or artistically experimental decision (for example: accepting a product endorsement, a change in the band's expected composition style, switching to a larger record label, dressing with more class, speaking out against mass mp3 piracy, etc.) The word is sometimes also applied to bands who simply get more commercial success through no additional effort.
The anger comes from the false belief that fans "own" their favorite entertainers, that these entertainers are thus not real humans with free will, and the feeling of grief when some CD that the listener previously enjoyed alone is now enjoyed by millions of more people.
(Note that "sellout" ONLY applies to those who make a living in the fine arts. For example, a software engineer who accepts a job promotion and higher salary is never branded as a "sellout". Nor is a professional athlete who appears on a box of Wheaties.)
Actual quotes from an old friend:
(1993) "Damnit, Smashing Pumpkins is such an underrated band. They never get played on the radio!"
(1994) "Damnit, Smashing Pumpkins are always on Mtv and the radio now! They're such sellouts."
3.
A word that would be useful if stupid poseurs didn't use it all the time.
Proper usage:
That band alienated their fan base and changed their style according to what the record company wants, that means they're sellouts.
Improper usage:
OMG THAY SOLD 30,000 RECORDS?!!11111 WAT SELLOUTS....
or
OMG THAY GOT ONTO TV???/// SELLLL OUTS
or
OMGZZ THEY R GETING SPONSORED BY SUM BIG COMPENY??// SELLOUTS!!11111
See
4.
In the words of zefrank, a sellout "doesn't have to do with actually having money, it has to do with the perception that your pursuit of popularity and potentially making money has caused you to sacrifice your core values."
zefrank1: Shit what can I do?
zefrank2: Well you could pretend nothing was happening.
zefrank1:OK I'll do that!
zefrank2: Well you just screwed that up.
zefrank1:Oh yeah. Crap.
zefrank2: It's too late now but you could have started out with a transparent agenda to become rich, then if it happened they'd call you a genius, not a sellout.
zefrank1: Dammit! Well why don't I take a poll and see what the community wants me to do?
zefrank2: That's called pandering to the audience, that's even worse than selling out.
See
5.
some one who changes for money
if my band became famous and then people started likeing other music so we started playing that even though we dont like that kind of music just for more money
See
6.
What kids say when they want to sound "hardcore".
That band is making money and a living now, what sellouts!
See
7.
A band who changes their music to include more poppy parts, to gain popularity. Often confused with "getting famous", "getting better sound" and "writing less heavy music".
Prime example - lostprophets (re-releasing an album that was only 2 years old, to make it more 'accessible')
Bad examples: blink 182 (just got a better sound) incubus (got old and wrote more chilled music) and tool (just became popular without changing anything)
See
