Do bands "sell out" when they sign a record deal with a major music label.

I hate to call it 'selling out.' Most of us have to make a living & it is to be expected that a record company will have some say in the music. A band will be signed because they show promise & talent, but a record company can polish them up a little. Sometimes we have to compromise.

Some do, some don't. Some don't at first, then sliiide into sellout-dom. Some do, break out of it, and slide back. The variety rests within the integrity (musical and otherwise) of the band/members.

When a band have to play for years without getting any possibilities to produce correctly the music it wants to do, it would be stupid not to accept proposals from majors.

In my mind, 'selling out' means changing the style or tone of the music to gain money or whatever.

I don't think that making money and being famous makes a band a sell out. A band becomes a sell out when it writes songs for the money. When it ceases to be a creative outlet and "art" then it becomes a sell out. Bands writing songs for ads are selling out.

I picked the 'lameness' option, not because the question bores me, but the concept of 'selling out' is lame. if a band is doing what it is doing for a living, then gets a record deal, then fine, they have 'made it' and can now live for a time free of worry as any individual with a secure job. did they sell out? only if their music changes to conform to some standards. perhaps they started out by making the noise that is currently popular, if they get a record deal doing that did they 'sell out' or were they lame to begin with?
if a band/person's music has risen in popularity, and they can get on a record label that will promote their music and they don't have to play constant shows, they can have a life outside of music (however brief), they can spread their music/message to a wider audience, what is wrong with that?

I think that if a band makes music that lots of people want to listen to, then a record company will sign them and there is no selling out involved. But, if a band is intent on "making it big", they may have to compromise their musical integrity to get signed by a big label.

I had two answers, I checked one, and now, 'your topic bores me with its lameness'

Many do, but it's not the act of signing with a major label that makes it selling out; it's when they water down their music for the ears of the masses, either because the label tells them to or because they want to make it palatable so that their label will continue to like them and shower them with material goodness. There are bands whose major label records sound just like their previous releases. And there are others who sound more produced on their major label records, but who never intended to sound unproduced, and simply lacked the resources to sound the way they wanted to. These bands have not, in my opinion, sold out. By the way, both of your "No" answers seem to me more like "Yes, but..." answers.

Money money money (as ABBA would sing) ... doesn't necessarily mean a sell out.

I suppose that depends on whether the band will have to make artistic compromises in order to produce music under the label, doesn't it?

elijahblue: I too know, and know of, musicians who make a living (albeit not a fortune) at music without selling out.

Here's a question: if a musician performs or records a piece of music because their fans demand it despite its lack of integrity, is that selling out? Is there a difference, in this case, between including a song on an album and doing it in concert?

I don't think they're selling out until they agree to have a label rep hideously overproduce their stuff.

Sometimes its the only way to get your music to the masses. Not all bands choose to accept big contracts if they're offered. By now I think most musicians are aware of the trappings that they can include.
Get a good lawyer before you sign anything.

Ok...so we have a bunch of Corporate types and computer nerds who came out of school and went to work for not meager salaries. Then we have a group of musicians who have probably been living on the road ...sleeping on buses (if they're doing well enough to afford a bus)...eating whatever and whenever they can for probably at least five years so they can get their music out to everyone....not just the few who are able to get to hear them in a local pub. Finally one day they're offered a record deal and can merit from the sweat they've put into their art and the "Establishment" people are going to decide if they're "selling out"? How about realizing a life long dream? Is someone selling out because they grab the chance not to be hungry and tired anymore and maybe even might get a chance to have a life like the nine-to-five guys have had while they're out there getting to people a few hundred at a time?
The ones who have sold out are the chemists who used to be looking for cures for diseases but have decided to work on germ warfare because there's more money in it or anyone of the "higher echelon" who has compromised their morals for the sake of money.
As with many of the "judge others" questions here, people should live someone else's life for a year or so before they decide on their answer.

not necessarily true, it depends on the band and the company. i think it is easier for a band to stay off a major record label and make money these days. and i think many artists have their own labels now(madonna and the artist) and promote a more wide range of artist.
GO ANONYMOUS!!

No, not at all. A major label means access to more markets and doesn't necessarily mean the label has "editorial control" over the songs on the CD. Is a band only good if the band plays on a tiny label? Are there no good bands on major labels? I love Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and will regardless of what label happens to put out their CDs.

ElijahBlue: But I've heard of my boyfriend's band and they're not selling out! And three other bands I know definitely play what they like, period. Some now have pretty big followings and they still just play what they like. At what point does the selling out happen - and is there something that causes it? Too many fans that they start to want to keep? Or too much money that they decide they want to keep getting?

ElijahBlue: I am really curious, though. I've heard my SO's band jamming in their basement. I then hear them essentially jamming in The Anvil - a biker bar down the street. They don't play any differently, and most of the time they don't even play "to the crowd", just for themselves. Is it the fact they're playing in a "club" that makes it different, or do I have to wait until they get to "bigger time" to start to notice a difference? What would start to happen?

The whole music industry is one giant sell-out. There is nothing that *isn't* sell-out. If you've heard of someone, they've had to sell out to get that recognition, in a thousand small ways. If their music sucks, then they're a bad sell-out, if it's good, then it doesn't matter.

anonymous: fyi, I am not a computer nerd nor corporate type, and I did "live the life," for three years, so I feel that I do know whereof I speak. I sometimes had to sell stuff to pay the rent. I sometimes went days without eating. I sometimes walked many many blocks because I couldn't afford subway fare. That doesn't change the fact that unless you are playing music in your basement entirely for yourself, some "selling out" will necessarily be involved in any music career.

lisashea: If I had something I wanted to add, I would have said it. I feel that I should be able to just give my opinion without constantly being asked to participate in debates which I feel are unproductive and tiring. We disagree. Leave it at that.

doom: I've spent a considerable amount of time and energy in the past replying to people who wanted to discuss something on here. I haven't felt that the time or energy I spent was worth it, and I'm not interested in being required to produce term papers to back up my beliefs. And that, too, is a blanket statement.

elijahblue: you can just express your opinion and leave it at that, however, your opinion here is a blanket statement about the entire music industry and I think other people are curious as to why you feel this way. Do you have an example? I personally just want to understand what caused this attitude.
elijahblue: I can understand that I was just genuinely curious why you thought that. :)