I hate the term ‘sell-out’. It gets thrown around a lot at some of more pretentious indie places I visit over here, and I understand the origins of the belief there – nobody wants to be spoon-fed and nannyed by any sort of government/regularatory body, that is only natural. It comprimises people’s individuality and I HATE that, god knows I wear my own individuality like a shield. But as an excuse for your entire personality? That just makes you a pretentious prick.
What is the point in discovering a great band making great music and then effectively flipping them off when they get signed, for instance? I appreciate that a lot of bands are under record companies’ thumbs about what to make and how to play it but that is not a blanket rule – there are plenty of labels, bands and producers out there that don’t do that. The same is could be said of anything – clothes, shops, websites, Myspace/Facebook: if you still enjoy using it, and it is still a valuable resource, why stop? I agree that they are smug buggers but unfortunately people like that exist – there’s no getting around that. We are very effectively discouraging new unsigned acts, and where will that leave our music industry? With the manufactured rubbish we all hate so much, that’s where.
For new bands especially, at the moment at least, social networking portals are still the cheapest and easiest way of getting heard, and as for those impartial journalists among us, we ust have to know that we won’t sacrifice our beliefs and our likes no matter how mainstream or otherwise. Variety is the spice of life, and all that, but it doesn’t mean we have to be totally different to all others all of the time, does it? Fact is, you can’t do much in this world off charity or without financial backing and that’s what bands get from record labels.
I accept I may have opened a can of worms here. You all know I love unsigned and indie, that’s why I do what I do, but what annoys me most about this whole argument is the people who despise labels in all their forms. They are clearly into indie for the scene, not the music, but they shout about how it’s ruining music and hurting their ears and precious little hearts. Here’s a suggestion: SHUT UP. If you really liked music, you’d like music regardless of how it was made, or where, or how much it cost. You’d like to hear and listen, not to stand around smoking and being smug.
Phew, rant over.
