SELLING OUT Page 2

The Artist

Defining the concept of a musical artist seems self-explanatory, but it must be further grounded in order to deal with selling out. Most importantly, the musical artist and the performer need to be recognized as unique concepts. Indeed, a musical artist can be a good performer, but for the case of argument these terms should remain separate.

There are a few key things that help differentiate an artist and a performer. First, a musical artist is a person or persons (i.e., a band or group) that are in creative and musical control of their art. Artists write their own music; they are used by the machine, not a product of it. People in the music industry that get by on merely good looks and exotic dancing to other people's songs should not be referenced as musical artists but rather as performers. Certainly, performers are legitimate; however, given the nature of their vocation, they are not in a position to sell out. Performers merely perform. Artists create. This is not to say that one's talent is more valuable than the other's is; they should just be acknowledged as different entities.

This leads to the second foundation in establishing just what an artist is. A musical artist must not be a commodity that is placed at the top and then used by a record label to just sell records. They must gain fame from their following, not gain a following from their fame. In other words, musical artists start at the bottom and try to work their way to the top, performers are often corporately placed directly to the top as part of a hit miss strategy. This is important because the basis of selling out is directly related to the artist/fan relationship. The artist must have a loyal following that calls them on selling out. Much like if a tree falls in a forest when no one is around, no sound is heard, a band cannot sell out if no fans are there to call them on it.

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