From: rhr9081@hertz.njit.edu (Ray Rich)
Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.metal.heavy
Subject: Re: MORE ON THIS SELLING OUT THING
Date: 21 Dec 92 22:40:53 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.

In article <1h56qtINNidr@tamsun.tamu.edu> mfc1493@tamsun.tamu.edu (Ratboy) writes:
>>Put yourself in this position...
>>
>>Your in a band whose been playing for many years now and you have
>>a very dedicated following.  You're able to live comfortably from
>>the money that you make from record sales/promotional spots, etc, etc.
>>
>>Then one day you learn that you could possible make 10-20x as much
>>cash if you just alter your songs/playing style so that it might
>>appeal to a wider audience.
>>
>>It would be extremely tempting, don't you think?
>>							Dave
>
>Well....it depends.
>
>First, it depends on your priorities. As a guitarist, music is my first
>goal. Not fans, not money, not anything else. Just the music and my ability.
>I must note on this that I am not in a band, nor do I have a recording
>contract, or loyal following. So, my points may be deviant. But from what
>I've heard a lot of bands *say*, whether they mean it or not (or practice
>what they preach) is another story--but many *say* that it is the music
>that counts for them. Metallica just to name one group. Now I know there are 
>many who think that Metallica sold out...depends on your definition of
>"sold out", I guess.
>
>If you are living comfortably with what you are making in the first place--
>"comfortable" being the key word--why bother to change for the money? 
>$5 million is as good as $10 million in my opinion. I don't have $5 million, or
>$10 milion, so maybe it is just too far beyond my grasp. But if that does
>hold up, why change your style for the money when you take the chance of
>alienating your loyal fans? I can understand, personally, changing your style
>because you are tired of the current one, or to explore new areas, but not for
>more money, when you have "enough" already.
>
	Well, it depends.  When you have $5 Million, you also have financial
responsibilities that the average joe doesn't have.  You no longer have to
make payments on a 1-story ranch and a Dodge Aspen, now it's a mansion and
a Mercedes.  While it may seem unnecessary, I'd trade my old clunker for a
new Mercedes in a second if I had the cash.  Also, with more money you can
start making decisions that were not open to you before.  Metallica can now
travel in their own jet rather than taking a bus (bad memories).  They can
afford to do a hell of a lot more.  This, of course, has its attendant cost.
To pay off their $5 Mil investments, they need to make more a la $10 Mil.
It continues to escalate from there to ridiculous Trump-esque levels.

>I think what happens with a lot of metal bands, Metallica in particular, is
>that, in the beginning, they are struggling to make it and they have the rough,
>raw sound that shows it, i.e. "Kill 'Em All". After all, metal was a new
>field of music at that time. There were no "Metallica"s that broke ground
>before them. Once the door was opened, or broken down, and the market flooded
>with metal, as it is today, things sort of quieted down for them a little.
>They have money now, they are older, they are further removed from the source
>of their roughness. So they "mellow out" a little. If they like the music they
>play, then I can't ask for anything more. It's *their* music, at least in my
>opinion. If I am not happy with the new music (take Yngwie Malmsteen, for
>example) then I will stop listening to the new stuff and focus on the old,
>supplimenting my need for new music with other groups.
>
>Any comments?
>
	Agreed.  I don't like the new Metallica, so I play the old.  I honestly
think this album is what they wanted.  They already had their niche, they could
keep pumping out the same stuff for decades and rake it in.  Instead, they
tried something different and gambled on some of their old audience leaving
and some new people getting into them.  It just so happens that more new
people found Metallica cool than old fans left because of the "sell-out".
That made them successful.  Everyone I know who's gotten into Metallica
because of the increased exposure from the new album has gotten into the
old stuff too.  Many of them bought the old albums and not the new one 
because it was overplayed and they wanted to hear different stuff from them.

>Ratboy

						Raythrax