Being the chief songwriter for the metal band I am currently in, I am now faced with a bit of a conundrum. To describe the type of metal we play, think 80s thrash mixed with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Yet, I find myself currently engrossed in writing a ballad...a love ballad...along the lines of Skid Row's In a Darkened Room. Now, my band isn't even known outside of the small town we live in, but would this be considered "selling out"? I mean, we aren't even currently selling music. We only have a couple complete songs that are known of by people outside of the band (we have 10 songs total), and they aren't for sale anywhere, so I can't be technically "selling out" if there's no money involved. Unless you take this term in a metaphorical sense for changing the type of song I'm writing...but it's MY music. If you don't like it, then don't listen to it. If you think it's the wrong direction, okay, that's fine. We have plently of other music you might enjoy.
But, where does the musical artist draw the line between what he/she feels/writes, and what the fans want to hear? This is what I never understood about "selling out". We are all human, and NO human feels nothing but hate.
What are your thoughts on this?
TL;DR: I'm in a heavy metal band, and I just wrote a ballad. Selling out?
If you are writing music that you love, then it can never be selling out my friend.
I've written slow acoustic jams, -core music, GnR style rock n roll, and even some bass and drums for hip hop. I've enjoyed everything I've written. There is nothing wrong with indulging in the different parts of your soul.
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Selling Out? blog
