Originally posted by brandx@Aug 22 2003, 05:27 PM
the issue of weather they need the fame or money or not is not really an issue. who's to say they have ENOUGH fame or ENOUGH money. you can't say if you were in the same position that you wouldn't do the same thing. so you get to add another 100,000 to your couple million for a day's work and possibly sell more records because of it...wouldn't YOU do it??? it'd be stupid to turn a business opportunity like that down. not to mention many artists in that position often donate their endorsements. it can mean quite a bit of money for not a whole lot of extra work.
music is art...artists often get pegged with being "sell-outs" if they get famous. but art is also business. people make a living that way, and getting famous is just a career advancement...in your own profession would you turn down a raise or a promotion for doing a little something extra?
Actually, BS aside and completely honestly, no I wouldn't do it. I've never felt the need to make MORE MORE MORE money and am completely happy living simply. That's just me, I know, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and to live their life their own way, etc etc, I know that too..
I do sell my art. No, it's not music, and I highly doubt that I will ever be in their shoes, so I can't honestly say how I would feel if I was.. but for ME, the fact that I have created something that someone else likes enough to want to own is good enough for me. If it inspires something in someone, my job is done. (shrug)
I have a home, a car to drive, my family is always fed, and I can pay my bills. That's all I need. If I made only 1 million dollars, one time, I could live off that for the rest of my life. I can't even fathom living so far above my means that I would NEED to make an extra 100,000 to add to my multimillion dollar bank roll.
It's sorta about respect, too. Look at the band TooL, for example. Anyone who listens to them and buys their albums and hears the message they send out understands what I mean. Never have, (probably) never will "sell out" (by which I mean lend/sell their music to ads or movies), don't plaster their faces and their personal lives all over the place, and in fact do little more to suppliment their incomes than tour and sell tshirts. Their fans have nothing but the utmost respect for them. [note - listen to their song "Hooker With a Penis"]
But yes.. it IS the artist's creation, and it IS their right and priveledge to use it/sell it as they wish. FourRings makes an excellent point, since in this day and age, the "old fashioned way" can get you only so far. My humble opinion, like I said earlier, is that it's a fine line.
Starving artist? Sell your music to a minivan company! Yes, by all means! You have kids to feed and bills to pay, do what you can to make your dream a reality, all the while making up for the money you WOULD be making if people weren't downloading all your profits away.
Madonna? You REALLY need another million? No, you're doing it for the attention.. or whatever. She, in my eyes, is a sellout. She sells her music to ads for the sake of selling music.
But so what? She wrote that little tune, she made it huge, let her do it. To be honest I think it's a catchy commercial, even if I have no respect for her as a serious artist. All I mean is that the term "sell out" can't always be applied to every situation. Not black and white but varying degrees of gray. Anyway that's my long winded 2 cents, thanks for readin..