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Rock music is where a lot of sell out talk happens. Often it is adapting your sound to the current trends. Metallica got some with Metallica but more so when they released Load and Reload due to changing into a hard rock radio rock band. Green Day got slammed for getting signed to a major label in the 1990's and IMHO never really changed except for the American Idiot sound. Then you have artists who were A&R'd to death with gimmicks like the 1980's hair bands.
Metallica started “selling out” (the emphasis being on the quotation marks), when they made a music video for the song One. That was on their And Justice for All album. On the following self titled album, they had largely ditched their thrash metal sound, which continued further on during the 90s with Load and Reload.
In general, when an artist signs to a major label, they get accused of selling their souls to the corporate world.
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Taylor Swift was pop only because she came at the right time in country. At the time she came out, Rascal Flats was at the peak of their popularity with their cover of "Life is a Highway" on the Cars Soundtrack, Carrie Underwood was getting crossover cred due to her sound while on American Idol, and Brad Paisley was getting big. Taylor also was a very soft country as oppose to most country on the radio at the time. The only country artists getting radio play at the time was those that were crossover acts like Shania Twain or Faith Hill and both went on sabbatical.
Taylor's sound was softer until maybe "You Belong With Me" and Sparks Fly. IMHO the Sparks Fly era was the best Taylor sound. It was a balanced country, pop sound with rock thrown in. And trust me, I also love her 1989 stuff. Great lyrics (just listen to the Ryan Adams cover album if you aren't a Taylor fan) and the sound was a bit different than from most pop releases at the time.
I believe it was on the album Red that she started her transition. 1989 had a lot of very well produced sleek pop songs, which kinda continued on with the follow up Reputation .
Her last 2 albums were folk based, having been recorded during the pandemic.
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Pantera's shift is interesting. I never listened to their glam metal stuff, but I think unless going heavy doesn't sound natural like say Poison, it isn't a bad thing to most rock fans. Pantera was not popular and the only heavy popular band at the time was Guns N Roses. Metallica was about to break at the time Cowboys came out.
Their glam metal stuff is hard to come by as most of those albums are out of print. The band practically disowned them, viewing Cowboys From Hell as their debut. You could say that they transitioned at the right time, since glam and thrash had lost a lot of ground in the mainstream. They were able to fill in that slot. In the underground, the metal scene was thriving with the rise of death and black metal.
Metallica started “selling out” (the emphasis being on the quotation marks), when they made a music video for the song One. That was on their And Justice for All album. On the following self titled album, they had largely ditched their thrash metal sound, which continued further on during the 90s with Load and Reload.
...And Justice for All really didn't sound that far from what Metallica did. Metallic did ballads before "One" and "One" similarly broke down into a headbanger like other Metallica ballads namely "Fade to Black". Anyone saying Metallica sold out with "One" is a neckbeard metal elitist.
If you're gonna knock Metallica for a ballad where they did change their sound, look to "Nothing Else Matters". While I love that song, I wouldn't fight someone saying that they sold out on it. However the look and sound changes on Load and Reload, I can't deny that. Then again, some of the complaints was neckbeard complaints.
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In general, when an artist signs to a major label, they get accused of selling their souls to the corporate world.
I think this changed with Green Day. Green Day had that stink but when Green Day sold tons of copies of Dookie it got many punk and metal bands to be looked at that weren't before. Maybe we can include the big four of grunge too, but grunge got overly corporate with bands like Candelbox and Creed.
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I believe it was on the album Red that she started her transition. 1989 had a lot of very well produced sleek pop songs, which kinda continued on with the follow up Reputation .
Sparks Fly was where she added pop rock to her country sound. But yes, Red was more traditionally pop though still country. It was like programmed guitars for the studio 1989 was pop but stood out at the time with an 80's sound and lots of gated reverb which led to more indie pop and indie pop wannabes copying the reverb. Reputation was largely Taylor copying what pop became after 1989, Lorde and Lana Del Ray. She had a few whisper vocals in 1989 but Reputation took them to a new level.
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Her last 2 albums were folk based, having been recorded during the pandemic.
I think the new Taylor is OK. I prefer Sparks Fly, Red and 1989 personally. The new Taylor is better than most of the Reputation and Lover era though.
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Their glam metal stuff is hard to come by as most of those albums are out of print. The band practically disowned them, viewing Cowboys From Hell as their debut. You could say that they transitioned at the right time, since glam and thrash had lost a lot of ground in the mainstream. They were able to fill in that slot. In the underground, the metal scene was thriving with the rise of death and black metal.
Thrash was still relevant, the issue is Metallica and Megadeth started changing their sounds. Metallica got polished by Bob Rock for being more radio friendly with The Black Album Megadeth went into a more ...And Just for All direction. It wasn't until Cryptic Writings that Megadeth went into what Metallica became in the 90's. Slayer and Anthrax were not as big, but still largely thrash. Both altered their sounds in the late 90's. Slayer to a nu-metal sound with Diabolus in Musica and Anthrax to a groove metal on Vol. 8
Pantera was the ones to start altering thrash into groove metal. Between them and Prong, but Prong isn't as remembered. Groove metal and alt metal became what would lead to nu-metal. And yes, nu-metal isn't that bad.
As for death metal and black metal, I honestly don't know much about both genres, they aren't me. Maybe melodic death metal like In Flames or Shadows Fall and symphonic death, but that is it...
Pantera's shift is interesting. I never listened to their glam metal stuff, but I think unless going heavy doesn't sound natural like say Poison, it isn't a bad thing to most rock fans. Pantera was not popular and the only heavy popular band at the time was Guns N Roses. Metallica was about to break at the time Cowboys came out.
Pantera was never a “sell out”. When they started back in the 80’s they were heavily influenced by Kiss, Van Halen, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, etc....
When Phil Anselmo joined, he moved Pantera into a more heavier sound. If you listen to Power Metal is basically a tribute to Judas Priest.
Then they became heavier by every record they released.
If there is a name for the 100% opposite of “selling out” then Pantera is it.
Pantera was never a “sell out”. When they started back in the 80’s they were heavily influenced by Kiss, Van Halen, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, etc....
When Phil Anselmo joined, he moved Pantera into a more heavier sound. If you listen to Power Metal is basically a tribute to Judas Priest.
Then they became heavier by every record they released.
If there is a name for the 100% opposite of “selling out” then Pantera is it.
I would say yes, the problem with changing styles, it is typically when it is hip or cool to do so and not because a genuine shift. Except maybe Poppy who went into a more metal direction with "X" and her subsequent album and EPs. She went from standard pop and dream pop into a more industrial metal sound, not too different than Republica just with more screams.
This song and lyrics are EXACTLY what you're talking about. The only reason he allowed Chevy to use it was to support and acknowledge the line workers in the auto industry in Michigan and primarily in Detroit.
Take advantage of what Jijmi Hendrix says in these videps as it is rare now to find them. I know where they are in full but they removed them as free to not so easy to find due to selling Cavett's interviews on video and CG and download for money.
Bands start out young and hungry. P*ssed off and rebellious. Rock fans in particular relate. Their bands speak to and for them.
Then a band gets older, wiser and outgrows the rebellion that launched it. When the fans no longer feel that close connection they condemn them as "sell outs".
This is almost exclusive to rock/rap bands. Misunderstood kids who're looking for something not only to listen to but to believe in. A band grows and the rabid believers feel betrayed.
Rush is a (are they really even rock?) band that changed without any fans losing their minds, but then again, they never spoke to/for rebellious misfit kids. The Rush fans in my class of 83' were the "smart kids" with a hint of swagger.
Young people hold their favorite bands in an almost religious regard and are easily turned off when a band simply cannot continue the same old schtick (AC/DC excepted).
Sometimes when an artist signs a record deal the company dictates the kind of material that you can release. They have to narowly define you to reflect the vibe of their label. Many artist after getting to a point in their career when they can part ways from one record company they will. They can then sign with a company that will give them "complete artistic control." That is something not many artist ever get.
Jazz guitar fans of George Benson said he sold out around the time he put out Breezin' in 1976. It was his fifteenth album but his first on a new record lable. Every one that knew him knew he liked to sing and that he was a good singer, but his old company narrowly defined him as a "Grant Green jazz guitarist." Breezin' was his most successful album.
Some one in my family was in negotiations with a small but reputable record compay. The executive outlined the kind of music that they would release. If my relative chooses to do it he will get the deal. The kind of music on their demo will have to sit on the back burner for years. I don't know if they will ever get the deal but if they do no doubt at some point they will revist music on that demo tape.(yes I know its not tapes anymore and hasn't been for a long time)
There is always a tension between the artistic drive and the commercial product.
Back in the days of LPs (excepting the very end of vinyl as a dominant medium, when the albums became a bit longer), if a band came out of the studio with 11 tracks spanning 55 minutes, they'd have to cut a couple of them from the release, because a 55-minute double album simply wasn't marketable.
Radio edits, to either shorten a song or eliminate a word or phrase that might offend listeners or the FCC, are commercially driven.
Discarding music the artist likes from the final release, because they know no one else will like it.
Playing football stadiums instead of small clubs that would feature much better sound and visuals, but would sell just a small fraction of tickets.
An artist performing some old song for the gazillionth time, when doing so sets their teeth on edge - Pete Townsend hates Pinball Wizard, Elton John hates Crocodile Rock, Sinatra hated Strangers in the Night - but they do it because that's what the audience pays to hear.
An album cover has nothing to do with music. Neither does a light show, or stage props. They exist solely to move product (while increasing its cost).
Music is a commodity.
"And every gimmick hungry yob digging gold from rock and roll
Grabs the mic to tell us he'll die before he's sold
But I believe in this and it's been tested by research
He who _____ nuns will later join the church"
-- Joe Strummer / The Clash, Death or Glory
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