yeah i totally agree. i remember when i first started getting into punk rock when i was in high school, there was this very big opposition to anyone who had had any marginal success. basically, anyone who was a step up from touring in their own shitty minivan and sleeping on random people's floors after shows was seen as a quote sellout unquote. i just thought, "i get the DIY thing, but what a horrible life; to be hated by your fans the second you have enough success to where your band can just be your job."
it's the same thing with indie rock. it's kinda gross, you know? i guess with indie rock, it's a little more logical, since the major issue people have is that, major labels are corporations, and all corporations are sales-driven, which means that sales are probably more important to them than any one band. that's why they'd rather force a band to make the same record they made last time than take a chance on something new: it's like the band is gambling with their money.
so mainstream labels influence an artist's art. and that sucks. but i don't think it's necessarily true 100% of the time, anyway. i mean, fuck, interpol's on a major label, and they don't suck. hell, don't the shins have major-label distro now?
i just think that to shut out mainstream bands completely, just because a CEO of their label MIGHT be influencing the direction they take their music, is really ignorant. like, on par with thinking that since some black people commit crimes, all black people must commit crimes. you know? it just closes people off unnecessarily.
wow, that was really long-winded. but yes. i totally feel you on the mainstream thing. as long as a band is making music that i like, why the fuck would i care where they're taking their paychecks from?
yeah i totally agree. i remember when i first started getting into punk rock when i was in high school, there was this very big opposition to anyone who had had any marginal success. basically, anyone who was a step up from touring in their own shitty minivan and sleeping on random people's floors after shows was seen as a quote sellout unquote. i just thought, "i get the DIY thing, but what a horrible life; to be hated by your fans the second you have enough success to where your band can just be your job."
it's the same thing with indie rock. it's kinda gross, you know? i guess with indie rock, it's a little more logical, since the major issue people have is that, major labels are corporations, and all corporations are sales-driven, which means that sales are probably more important to them than any one band. that's why they'd rather force a band to make the same record they made last time than take a chance on something new: it's like the band is gambling with their money.
so mainstream labels influence an artist's art. and that sucks. but i don't think it's necessarily true 100% of the time, anyway. i mean, fuck, interpol's on a major label, and they don't suck. hell, don't the shins have major-label distro now?
i just think that to shut out mainstream bands completely, just because a CEO of their label MIGHT be influencing the direction they take their music, is really ignorant. like, on par with thinking that since some black people commit crimes, all black people must commit crimes. you know? it just closes people off unnecessarily.
wow, that was really long-winded. but yes. i totally feel you on the mainstream thing. as long as a band is making music that i like, why the fuck would i care where they're taking their paychecks from?
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