Well, when Beck changed his style it was to something completely new and different and clearly not mainstreamish. I don't think there's any reason to accuse him of selling out for Mutations through Sea Change.

Now, Guero, the jury's still out. It does sound an awful lot like Odelay. I don't think he is selling out (Although I heard he wasn't going to make it a full LP release at first until the record company insisted). But I'm pretty sure the record company was nudging him to write another album like Mellow Gold and Odelay that will sell. It's more likely though that he's giving way to critical pressure (If he's even doing that) than that he's selling out. It's also possible that he just wanted to write another fun record with hip-hop and latin underpinnings and the record company's just making sure they capitalize on it.

For the record, I wasn't saying that Beck (or Bowie or Young) were selling out. I was just pointing out that the REASONS behind their frequent style changes might be construed by some as how bob defined "selling out."

Personally, I think Louis XIV is Ok, but I liked Convoy better. But I'm not sure I can accuse them of "selling out" not knowing their motives. Interviews seem to say that the band just thought it was "time for a change." I can't really criticize that.

What always gets me is how the people who are the first to say "it's all about the music man" are also the first to bring up record sales and commercials. In fact Im sure that there must have been an instance were "selling out" helped an artist to make better, more comprehensible music.

If you think music is the most important thing start acting like it. Personally Im just happy to see talented people be able to live in comfort and not have to work a menial low wage job.

I only like OLD Justin Timberlake.

Good art is never business.

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Good art is never business.

That's a very heroic view of the artist. Like it or not, everyone's gotta get paid in full. There are very few who devote their lives to art who don't expect some monetary compensation. I'm not saying that money's the only reason they do it, but there's no way most people would spend years writing, recording, and spending on an album only to give it away. I'm sure they at least want to get back what they spent into it. Most artists would be more then likely be happy if they broke even with their hobbies. I don't think that kind of attitude taints the art at all. It only allows them to continue doing it.

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Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
It's not selling out unless you actually change your style and water down your music for the explicit purpose of selling more albums.

seriously. DJ Shadow epitomizes "selling out." Before releasing The Outsider he gave in interview in which he said he was sick of making music for backpackers and 30-year olds... and that he wanted to make music that a younger generation would put on their iPods. and then he released his joke of an album with a bunch of hyphy crap and no name rappers... well, the "kids" didnt like it and neither did his backpacking, 30-year old fans. I almost threw away endtroducing, but it's just too groundbreaking of an album...