Jul
11
Jett asked:
With millions of mostly girls waiting to fall in love with next yearstalentless bands like nickelback and hinder, how big do you think the pressure is to sell out? I know I would never drift to the dark-side, but I’ve seen it happen to bands who actually had some talent. My hypothesis from knowledge of these bands is that most of them never had any talent at all, but when our societies bad taste in music effects even those musicians with talent, we know we have a problem.
With millions of mostly girls waiting to fall in love with next yearstalentless bands like nickelback and hinder, how big do you think the pressure is to sell out? I know I would never drift to the dark-side, but I’ve seen it happen to bands who actually had some talent. My hypothesis from knowledge of these bands is that most of them never had any talent at all, but when our societies bad taste in music effects even those musicians with talent, we know we have a problem.
With a good portion of CD sales going out to the younger generation and women, with other populations relying more on illegal downloads, our music industry is becoming more about the image and less about the talent as I speak. To make art or to make money, how strong is the pull? Most of these bands never had to learn their instruments anyway, and if you have the right image you have a chance to get a record deal. Is there any change in sight?
Metallica has talent, but the question in. Why learn an instrument when it is not required to be successful in the music industry? That is what it has come down to.
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3 Responses to “How big do you think the pressure is to sell out in the music industry?”
The monetary pressure is huge, possibly enormous…otherwise why would a band like Metallica sell out?
I think the pressure to sell out is there if:
1. You are with a big label.
2. You are more concerned about being a star than a musician.
I think the pressure is much less if you’re independently released, or if you’re one of the smart people who figure out how to market and sell your music via the internet without having to rely on a label.
I would disagree with your point about a good portion of CD sales going to the younger generation and women. Most research shows that the biggest demographic of CD purchasers are 26-40. The younger generation is much more comfortable with downloading and and additional forms of filesharing — and as that continues the real music lovers out there are going to bypass CD purchases.
I think that the younger generation — and its artists — are going to eventually force the industry to change. When you’re selling online and touring, you gotta have talent to be noticed.
Well . . .at least I hope. I realize that Paris Hilton had a Top 10 album this year.
Sheesh . . . . . maybe I should shut up.
Jett,
It’s weird…. I think there is a lot of pressure to sell-out, but I don’t consider Hinder to be a sell-out. Nickleback… definitely sell-out. Let me explain why I don’t think so with Hinder. They are very up front in the fact that they don’t claim their lyrics are deep and meaningful. They are going for totally mainstream, catchy lyrics that people want to sing along to. (I happen to enjoy them for what they are… they’ll fade away eventually but remind me of bands like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Def Leopard… some of the good times bands I loved in years past.) Nickleback is just too generic and nauseating for me.
My favorite band is actually Staind. They have stayed true to their style. I admit, they may put out more slow songs than they used to, but in concert, they even rocked their ballads.