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Does getting popular mean an instant sellout?

Obviously, we want our favorite bands to succeed, but there's a secret part of us that wants to keep them all to ourselves.

Like the Flaming Lips, for example. Those guys are so ******** huge that I can't even imagine what a ticket might cost. Because they are well known, does that mean that they sold out? Or does it mean that they are just well-known?

And what differientiates a big indie band from a big mainstream band, aside from sound. What makes Franz Ferdinand (yes, I like them. Lemme alone) having success any different than Sonic Youth having success?

The only thing I can see is that the Franz guys never tried to change anything about the music industry, and never made a promise NOT to sell out. They don't pretend to be deep or anything- they just make music.


What keeps a slight sellout different from the Starbucks-sellouts The Shins ?(I've been a little pissed since I saw an ad for them in a Starbucks window. Yeesh.)


Oh, Indie Kids, Tell me, and make this Bob not be in the dark anymore.

Pretty much, I'll agree with that.

The basic of being a sell-out is changing everything about your music in order to sell records.

It can go either way. There are indie bands out there who've become popular through their original sounds, while others have changed into a more mainstream style of music, therefore I put as sell-outs.

But then I think, what if it's actually inevitable? What if it's just a natural course of change? Surely, all things change, including the style of how the band plays and interprets their songs. But, I guess you can tell the difference between selling out and just a natural occurence of change [which probably still keeps its original roots].

The More You know!


Really good summation.

The fact is, though, that the word "sellout" gets thrown around so much that it really is hard to tell what it really means sometimes.

I'll take you at what you said, though, and add that to what I know. mrgreen

This is why I like you guys. You aren't jerks, you just say how you feel without being assholes.

Wow, it's great to see people agreeing with me. biggrin

Okay, let's think about this for a minute. You are the member of the Indie Kids guild, which is largely devoted to indie music(s). Most indie bands are on the obscure side and unknown to the mainstream listener. These are the bands that are omitted from radio play and absent from MTV music video blocks. However, most if not all the members of this guild would argue those bands are still fantastic. Yes, there are indie bands that are hugely popular among a certain demographic, but their success will always be much smaller compared to bands like Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance, who basically rule the mainstream.

On the other hand, there are loads of mainstream musicians that are hugely successful, even though I see nothing to like about them. I mean, generally, even if I don't like a band, I can still find something to like about them. But there are some bands I just don't ever get in terms of music. It seems to me the success of those bands is determined by good P.R. and the mainstream listener's lack of exposure to other music.

{ everything must belong somewhere. }

I live in Montreal, so the good indie bands rarely ever come by. If we want them, we need to make sure they have the cash to come here. Ususally, that means selling albums. That's the reason I work for street teams. I want my favorite indie bands to play shows in my city, so I try to make them popular.

{ i know that now, that's why i'm staying here. }

But doesn't Montreal have all sorts of great indie bands sprouting up?

I could care less about popularity when it comes to music.

Whether it's obscure or not, if I like it, then I'm going to listen to it.
It's as simple as that. ; )

AND.....


You'll know when an indie band sells out, because they will no longer be on an independent record label.
Therefore, they are no longer "indie".