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Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. | Selling out refers to the compromising of one's integrity, morality and principles in exchange for money, 'success' or other personal gain. It is commonly associated with attempts to increase mass appeal or acceptability to mainstream society. A person who does this, as opposed to following the original path s/he laid (or claimed to lay) out for him/herself, is labeled a sellout and regarded with disgust and immediate loss of respect. Selling out is seen as gaining success at the cost of credibility. Every person, from the entertainment industry, to political revolutionaries, to a Bohemian who suddenly switches to a socially conservative lifestyle, could be a sellout. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...
Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...
For other uses, see Money (disambiguation). ...
Look up mainstream in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
“Cred†redirects here. ...
The term bohemian was first used in the nineteenth century to describe the non-traditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities. ...
In various political movements, such as the communist and anarchist movements, a "sellout" is someone or some group who pretends to adhere to a sincerely pro-working class ideology, only to follow these claims up with actions that directly contradict them and that may even go so far as to actually or implicitly support capitalism. Politics is the process by which decisions are made within groups. ...
This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...
Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ...
The term working class is used to denote a social class. ...
Capitalism generally refers to an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately[1][2] owned and operated for profit, and in which investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are determined through the operation of a free market. ...
In regard to theater shows, musicals, concerts and other performances, a sell out show is simply a show so popular that all tickets are sold out, and is generally considered as a milestone in terms of success.
Sellout Examples in Entertainment
Music The phrase is frequently heard in the musical community, where it is used to imply that an artist has compromised their artistic integrity in order to gain radio airplay or obtain a recording contract, especially with a major label, such as when Chumbawamba signed to EMI after years of viciously attacking the organisation.[citation needed] Often, the label will force a particular record producer on the performer, insist on the inclusion of songs by commercial songwriters, or the label may even refuse to release an album, deeming it uncommercial. Chumbawamba are an English band who started out playing punk rock but over a 25-year career have gone on to play music in a wide range of styles, including pop influenced by dance music and world music, and now play acoustic folk music. ...
The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising of the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. ...
The classic example of an artist being accused of "selling out" by their fans was Bob Dylan's well-documented "electrification". Dylan outraged folk music purists by, in their view, selling out their favourite music for rock and roll when he first played an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.[citation needed] One fan's exasperated cry of "Judas!" is immortalised on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. Most modern critics, however, view Dylan's move to electric as part of a creative progression, and his 1965 and 1966 albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde are viewed as some of his better albums.[citation needed] Dylan was not accused of selling out when he later went to Nashville to record country and western music.[citation needed]Phil Collins has also been regarded by many as a sell-out.[citation needed] Although he is widely known for his large catalog of enormously successful, commercial pop & dance hits he began his musical career playing highly anti-commercial, intricate, progressive rock in early Genesis and Brand X. This article is about the recording artist. ...
Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the...
The Newport Folk Festival is an annual folk-oriented music festival founded in 1959 by George Wein, founder of the already-well-established Newport Jazz Festival, and his partner, Albert Grossman. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: For other...
Highway 61 Revisited is Bob Dylans sixth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
For other cities named Nashville, see Nashville (disambiguation). ...
Country music, once known as Country and Western music, is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. ...
For other uses, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). ...
For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ...
Genesis are an English rock band formed in 1967. ...
Brand X is a classic jazz fusion band. ...
Nirvana made repeated references to the act of selling out (including, clearly ironically, thanking their audiences for "pretending we're still punks"). One popular T-shirt produced by the band features the slogan "Flower Sniffin', Kitty Pettin', Baby Kissin' Corporate Rock Whores". Frontman Kurt Cobain also proposed the titles Verse Chorus Verse (in reference to the formulaic structure fans had come to expect of their songs) and Radio Friendly Unit Shifters as possible titles for the album that eventually became In Utero [citation needed]. Cobain further lampooned ideas of Nirvana's new commercial appeal by appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine wearing a T-shirt reading "Corporate Magazines Still Suck"[1]. The first Nirvana item to be released following Cobain's death was the perhaps sarcastically titled VHS tape "Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!". This article is about the American grunge band. ...
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released on September 21, 1993 by Geffen Records (DGC). ...
This article is about the music magazine. ...
The Who Sell Out is an album by The Who with mock endorsement advertisements on the cover. The album pretends to represent a radio station that plays nothing but Who music, including mock commercials and radio-station promotions. The Who became very prolific at selling their work by the end of the 1990s, including "Love Reign O'er Me" for 7-Up, "Bargain" for Nissan, "Overture" for Claritin, "Happy Jack" for Hummer, "Baba O'Riley" for Hewlett Packard, and "I Can See for Miles" for Sylvania Silverstar headlights.[citation needed] More recently, their songs have been used as themes for all three CSI series.[citation needed] Back cover The back cover of The Who Sell Out The Who Sell Out is The Whos third album, released in 1967. ...
The Who are an English rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ...
Selling out is a controversial topic within both hip hop music and hip hop culture, with two wholly opposite views on the matter. Traditional "underground" hip hop artists and fans decry "selling out", and heavily criticise artists who change their style just to reach the top. The hip-hop community also considers a performer to be a "sell-out" when they shun hip-hop's traditional African-American and Latino communities and appear to be pandering to a mainstream (usually white) audience. For example, Kurtis Blow was considered a sell-out in the 1980s, MC Hammer was accused as being a sell-out during the 1990s, and many rappers during the 2000s.[citation needed] Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ...
// The term Latino is a linguistic identity that refers to an individual that has significant ancestry from a nation-state where a Latin derived language is spoken or is the offical language of the government. ...
The term white American (often used interchangeably with Caucasian American[3] and within the United States simply white[4]) is an umbrella term that refers to people of European, Middle Eastern, and North African descent residing in the United States. ...
Curtis Kurtis Blow Walker, (born on August 9, 1959, in Harlem, New York) is one of the pioneer rappers in the recording industry, and hip hops first mainstream star. ...
MC Hammer (born Stanley Kirk Burrell on March 30, 1962) is an American MC who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark Hammer pants, and for leaving a lasting influence on hip hop culture...
Mainstream hip-hop music, on the other hand, is stereotyped as embracing materialism and a "bling-bling" mentality. Such visual representations of wealth are seen as status symbols and things to be aspired to, as opposed to the attitude of traditional "hip hop heads" and punk or metal artists. Mainstream artists such as Master P and P Diddy have achieved vast personal fortunes and business empires, and often revel in their affluence in their music. A bling bling-heavy album cover from The B.G. For the Marvel Comics character, see Bling (comics). ...
Punk Rock is an anti-establishment music movement that began about 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified by The Ramones,the Misfits, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Heavy metal music. ...
Hip-hop's lyrical content has changed very much as well. New hip-hop is now much more popular and the artists are wealthier. Today the lyrics in hip-hop seem to reference more the wealth and "high life" of the rappers, where as in older hip-hop the lyrical content was more about "the ghetto" and were anti-establishment. Long time hip-hop fans express dissatisfaction with this change.[citation needed]
Mainstream hip hop music's fixation on bling bling and other material and luxury goods has led to much criticism from media pundits, musical critics, and the non-mainstream hip-hop community.[citation needed] They charge that the phenomenon promotes consumerism and materialism, and strengthens racist arguments that young African American men are incapable of higher or more virtuous or spiritual goals than material gain.[citation needed]
Ska band Reel Big Fish also released a song titled "Sell Out", which deals with the idea of a local musician "selling out". Reel Big Fish are an American ska punk band, best known for the 1997 hit Sell Out. ...
Sell Out is one of the more famed songs from California ska band, Reel Big Fish, released as the first track on their 1996 album Turn The Radio Off. ...
Tool released a track titled "Hooker with a penis" on their album Ænima dealing with lead singer Maynard James Keenan's encounter with a fan that accused the band of "selling out" to which Maynard pointed out that all bands "sell out" to get a record as they're willing to do whatever it takes. Tool is an American rock band, formed during 1990 in Los Angeles, California, that consists of drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. ...
Ænima is the second full-length studio album by the American rock band Tool. ...
Maynard James Keenan (born April 17, 1964, as James Herbert Keenan) is an American rock singer. ...
Movies The term selling out is used in a similar sense when discussing the movie industry, in particular its directors.
George Lucas has often received heavy criticism from Star Wars fans about selling out. On a more general level, Lucas has also been criticised for the mass-marketing of Star Wars merchandise such as toys, cartoons, lunchboxes, etc. George Walton Lucas, Jr. ...
Star Wars is an epic space opera saga and a fictional universe initially developed by George Lucas during the 1970s and expanded since that time. ...
In Wayne's World, Wayne breaks down the fourth wall, mentioning he would never sell out, in this case, to make his public access television show more successful. To humorously contradict himself, as he talks, he displays a product, with the corporate logo highly visible. Waynes World is a 1992 comedy film starring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of a cable access television show (called Waynes World) from Aurora, Illinois. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Look up public access television in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson began his career directing b-grade cult horror films such as Dead Alive, Bad Taste, and Meet the Feebles. Jackson's skill as a director, his over-the-top use of violence, and non-commercial yet highly ambitious plots filmed on tiny budgets earned him a prominent place in the cult horror community. His two films following Meet the Feebles strayed from his extreme style, but it wasn't until he signed onto the Lord of the Rings trilogy that accusations of selling out arose; outside the horror community improved critical reception rather than just monetary success accompanied these movies. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy comprises three live action fantasy epic films; The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). ...
For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ...
Possibly the goriest movie ever, Braindead (1992) is a cheerfully extreme zombie horror-comedy directed by Peter Jackson. ...
Bad Taste is a low-budget 1987 cult film, one of the first directed by Peter Jackson, in which aliens invade the fictional New Zealand village of Kaihoro (population 78) in order to harvest human beings for their intergalactic fast food franchise but are repelled by a four-man paramilitary...
Meet The Feebles (1989) is a black comedy film by director Peter Jackson. ...
Kevin Smith achieved a cult following with his low budget independent film Clerks, but has subsequently been labelled a sellout on numerous occasions, particularly by people who saw the cheaply-made style of Clerks as a mark of artistic integrity, rather than a financial decision. The accusations began with his second film, Mallrats, in which he made many changes to the screenplay to appease studio executives. Renowned film critic Roger Ebert recalled, in his review of the movie, acting as chairman for a discussion panel of independent filmmakers at the Cannes film festival. One of the filmmakers was Smith, and whilst the other filmmakers discussed measures they could take to avoid excessive studio interference with their work, Smith said that he would do anything to get the movie greenlit. At the time Ebert thought he was joking, but in his opinion with Mallrats, Smith did just that. For other persons named Kevin Smith, see Kevin Smith (disambiguation). ...
Clerks. ...
Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. ...
Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...
For his part, Smith has taken to applying the phrase to himself with self-deprecating enthusiasm, for example, saying in an interview, "I've been saying I sold out for years. When Miramax bought the first movie (Clerks), that was a sellout. And you know, we followed up with Mallrats. We sell so much damn merchandise on our Web site that it's kind of become a joke that I like to make money." Smith has also mocked this by wearing shirts that jokingly say "SELL-OUT" and "INDIE" on them, as seen in making of footage for Clerks 2. Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ...
Clerks II is the 2006 sequel to Kevin Smiths 1994 movie Clerks. ...
Comedy Although rare, stand-up comedians face criticism of selling out. Comedians who start out in comedy clubs might often use foul language and blue humor in their routines. A comic who alters his routine by "sugar-coating" his language and using less-offensive material to obtain mainstream success may be accused of selling out. Some might also argue that comedians who decide to enter the film industry with comedy movies are selling out, depending on the quality and content of their movies.[citation needed]George Carlin has been accused of being a sell-out for appearing in television commercials for MCI's 10-10-220.[2][3][4] Carlin had previously spoke of his dislike for MCI's commercials in his album Back in Town. In his album You Are All Diseased, which contains rants against advertising and business, Carlin admits the dichotomy but makes no attempt to explain himself stating "You're just gonna have to figure that shit out for yourself." In interviews, Carlin revealed he appeared in the ads to help pay off a large tax debt to the IRS.[5][6] Richard Pryor hits the money line A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. ...
It has been suggested that Toilet humor be merged into this article or section. ...
George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York, New York)[2] is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. ...
MCI logo MCI, Inc. ...
10-10-321 is a long-distance phone service best known for its prolific television advertising in the late 1990s. ...
Back In Town is George Carlins tenth HBO special. ...
You Are All Diseased is the title for the 1999 HBO stand-up special with comedian George Carlin and was also converted into an album. ...
“Advert†redirects here. ...
In economics, a business is a legally-recognized organizational entity existing within an economically free country designed to sell goods and/or services to consumers, usually in an effort to generate profit. ...
Seal of the Internal Revenue Service Tax rates around the world Tax revenue as % of GDP Part of the Taxation series “IRS†redirects here. ...
In the dawn of Dave Chappelle's highly anticipated third season of Chappelle's Show and approached with a huge salary, Dave Chappelle fled his show, leading many to believe that he feared the moniker of being a "sell out". Sketches from his third season, confirmed this suspicion, when he portrayed himself in this position, showing how money had changed him. David Khari Webber Chappelle (born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian, satirist and actor. ...
Chappelles Show is an American comedy television series starring comedian Dave Chappelle. ...
Dane Cook, whose success largely attributed to word of mouth popularity, suddenly rose from obscurity to mega-stardom in the mid 00's, taking on and starring-in many movie projects, many of them mediocre. In 2007, he starred in, what many consider to be an overplayed commercial, commercials for MLB Actober. Some of his fanbase has since abandoned him, weary of his seemingly real comic persona being reproduced and scripted as an actor. Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and musician. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in North America. ...
For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ...
Criticism of the term An artist may also be accused of selling out after changes in artistic direction. This conclusion is often due to the perception that the reason that artist changed artistic style or direction was simply due to potential material gain. This ignores other causes of natural artistic development, which may lead an artist in new directions from those that attracted their original fans. Artists' improvements in musical skill or taste may also account for the change. Personal development (also known as self-development, self-improvement or personal growth) comprises the development of the self. ...
Other times, artists resent the term on the grounds that the perceived desire for material gain is simply a result of the band seeking to expand its message. For example, when questioned about signing to a major label, Rage Against the Machine answered "We're not interested in preaching to just the converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart."[7] Rage Against the Machine (also Rage and RATM) is a Grammy Award-winning American rock band, noted for their blend of hip hop, heavy metal, punk and funk as well as their revolutionary politics and lyrics. ...
Other bands (including those without politically-oriented messages) may also reject the term on the basis that not going mainstream or signing to a bigger label to prevent "selling out" limits a band's choice to address desire from wider audiences (regardless of whether there is any real artistic change) or arbitrarily hampers the artists' natural course of mainstream success with the assumption that mainstream success is necessarily opposite the artist's intentions. When confronted with the accusation of selling out in 2001, Mike Dirnt of Green Day claimed, This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
This article is about the band Green Day. ...
"If there's a formula to selling out, I think every band in the world would be doing it," he said. "The fact that you write good songs and you sell too many of them, if everybody in the world knew how to do that they'd do it. It's not something we chose to do. "The fact was we got to a point that we were so big that tons of people were showing up at punk-rock clubs, and some clubs were even getting shut down because too many were showing up. We had to make a decision: either break up or remove ourselves from that element. And I'll be damned if I was going to flip fucking burgers. I do what I do best. Selling out is compromising your musical intention and I don't even know how to do that."[8]
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