Buying in to Selling Out

When I was 16 years old, I was in a hard core punk band called the Suburban Delinquents. We were anti-establishment. We hated hair bands. We couldn't speak the latest pop star's name without rolling our eyes.

We were obsessed with a concept called "selling out." It was a legitimate reason to start hating a band. A band "sold out" when they were topping the Billboard charts or if they were all over MTV. Bands "sold out" when they started making good money. As far as we were concerned, they had become corporate puppets. And then we would curse their names. After all, we were idealists. We felt like business interests had tainted something that was artistic and pure.

Speaking of business interests, our band made less than $500 in a three-year period. We never sold out. And no one ever saw us for the musical geniuses we actually were. With songs like "Slut Puppy from Hell" and "Skool Bored" (with the 'r' spelled backwards in a really nifty graphic), the listening public must have been asleep at the wheel to have missed us.

I see this same fear of selling out in many songwriters today. One talented songwriter told me, "I won't compromise my artistic integrity and sell out." Fine. But what's the alternative? Getting a day job to pay your bills so you can sing songs at a nightclub that only a few people want to buy? Now that I'm a little wiser, I just don't buy in to this "selling out" argument. Here's why...

When I left Suburban Delinquents, I wanted to make a living with music. But that's not what I did.

Instead, I went to college. I got an engineering degree. Then I got a master's degree. Then I got a nice, safe, salaried job at a Fortune 500 company just like Mom and Dad wanted. They were so proud. And I was proud that they were proud.

But it wasn't until I'd spent eight years in a cubicle before I'd realized that I had sold out. I wasn't passionate about engineering. I wasn't excited about my work. And because of that, I had become a "corporate puppet."

So, when my wife started working, and with her all important blessing, I took advantage of an opportunity to reconnect with a career in music. I'm about two years into this career change and I couldn't be happier. I work long hours, but I'm energized at the end of the day. I wake up every morning excited about the possibilities of a new day.

And this time around, I'm not buying into the whole "selling out" thing.

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The Music Business

This blog will focus on the business side of making music. The word, business, is in the phrase "music business" because somebody is making or losing money. It also means that someone is creating music. Yes, music is art. Yes, music is a reflection of our inner-most feelings and convictions. But if you want to sell it, then it has to connect with others. The more people you connect with, the more money you can make.

In subsequent posts, I will focus on people who make money with music. This may include commercial radio, film or TV content, performance, venue ownership, and whatever else I can uncover. I hope to point out new possibilities and opportunities and to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in you, dear reader.

Since I live in the Dallas metroplex, I will generally focus on local entrepreneurs who are in some way making music make money for them.

So stay tuned for the next post.