too popular? Options

[brooklyneast05]

why do people like a certain musician/artist but then don't like them when they get "too popular"?

i never understand this concept fully. i mean...if their music is the same, and you liked their music to begin with, why would it matter that more people like it now? wouldn't you still like what you like regardless of whether 5,000 people know about them or 500,000? shouldn't you be happy that someone who you think makes good music is actually doing well in their career?


this isn't the same as a song being over played on the radio or something. i understand that you can like a song but then just hear it too much. this is more about disliking a whole group/artist just because more people start to listen to them.


i don't understand why the size of a fan base would determine what music you like.

[Tomates]

Maybe because it made people think that they were different from others?

[brooklyneast05]

what do you mean?

[Tomates]

Well probably becuase maybe out of all their friends they just know it instead of the typical bands that everyone else knows. Therefore making them different from everyone music wise...?

[brooklyneast05]

if their music itself changes then i can understand that you might not like them anymore. if they are one way and then all the sudden they start putting out generic stuff that is different than their original sound.

i just think that i like what music i like regardless. the music itself is what i like, not whether or not i think i'm cool for being the only one listening to them.

if a group is good, i am all for them getting "popular", because popular music doesn't equal bad music. so it's kinda a form of "haterness" to me to sit around and hope that someone you like never gets any money or recognition for what they do.

if i was a musician and people were wanting to me basically fail and never have a career just so they could feel cool that they were in a small percentage listening to me then i'd be like wtf kinda fan is that!

ya know?

[Tomates]

I agree. I think Metrosation changed up their music a bit with this new CD they came out with.

[sixfive]

Being too popular = overplayed = bored of it, but it's not like I listen to the radio anyway.

[berrypop90]

OMG I know what you mean. I hate that. I honestly can't stand when people change their minds about an artist once they get popular. A friend of mine is that way & I asked her why and she said "They sold out! MTV plays them now and I didn't think the band would ever go down that path." So what if they want to be famous? Shouldn't fans be happy for their bands success? Can you blame people for wanting to make money?

[brooklyneast05]

yeah to me there is a big difference between wanting to make money and being "all about money". people always are saying how it shouldn't be about the money. well, that's a nice thought, but really impracticable since making music/art isn't free to begin with. wanting to able to fund your music doesn't make you all about money.

so that's another thing that i can't stand is when people call others sell outs just based on the fact they are trying to not be completely broke.

[Gigi]

yeah to me there is a big difference between wanting to make money and being "all about money". people always are saying how it shouldn't be about the money. well, that's a nice thought, but really impracticable since making music/art isn't free to begin with. wanting to able to fund your music doesn't make you all about money.

so that's another thing that i can't stand is when people call others sell outs just based on the fact they are trying to not be completely broke.

Yeah that's completely stupid. It's not wrong to want to be successful or want to make money - hell, it should be a band's friggin goal to reach out to as many people as possible. If they still think in their heads that their music is able to induce change or action in other people, which I think is what music is about, then reaching out is the most important thing.

It's an entirely different thing though, when bands drop everything they believe in at the first sign of money.

[freeridefight]

I have a friend who is like that. They hate it when the band reaches mainstream because they think it "corrupts" their music ability and talent, and are falling to mainstream's taste of music.

yep.

[DoubleJ]

I remember when this was the big deal with Creed. For a long time, they had refused to go on TRL, and their fans loved it. When they finally did go on, their fan base dropped and they started the downfall towards the end of the road.

[freeridefight]

^^ yeah and Panic at the Disco.

[MissFits]

I could never hate a band just for getting popular. If they make good music I want EVERYONE to hear it and enjoy it as much as me.

I just don't like when people claim to like bands because it fits the 'scene' or whatever you want to call it. Like, Sublime or The Misfits, people have heard a few of their songs on the radio and they go get a fiend skull tattoo, or stock their wardrobe with Sublime shirts. When in all actuality they only know the hit songs and have never given the band a serious listen. That happens when bands get big, people claim to like them without having listened to them and it irks the shit out of me.

[Marlons]

^Excactly. Also some people just don't like that the hidden gem in their collection getting popular. Like Tomates said, they don't feel different anymore.

I used to wear my DragonForce T-shirt all the time, then Guitar Hero 3 came out and all of a sudden people came up to me and were like "OMG! DragonForce, TTFAF that song is so hard to beat!" That kinda pissed me off. So yeah.

[MissFits]

It's not even that I like 'hidden gems'. If I see someone in a band T-Shirt of some obscure band I like, or if I see someone with a bands logo tattooed on them forever I like to think I could talk to that person about that band, and have them say something back to me that makes sense rather than "Yeah I really like those 2 hit songs they had that everyone in the world knows, but I've never heard an album" or "Yeah, I like them because My Chemical Romance covered that one song they did".
f**k that shit. If you don't like a band don't claim to like them because they are popular.

[markmejia]

I won't lie, I'm a victim of this. But I'm trying not to be. But yeah, "selfish" is the keyword, so I'm fuckin selfish about it, like all others alike.

And then again, I don't get it either.

[manic]

Some people want to listen to the same band that they just happened to come across and loved in the underground scene, instead of a good band converting into something that a larger group of people would like rather than individuals.

[queen]

this discussion kind of reminds me of a blog posted by talib kweli a while back, about fans who expect the artist to keep putting out the same type of music and never to "sell out". he defined a true artist as one who is willing to evolve and who isn't afraid to displease the fans when experimenting with new and different styles.

i pretty much agree with him; therefore, i rarely accuse bands of "selling out" 'cause in reality, who wouldn't want to be more successful? and who's to say that these so called "sell outs" are really changing their style just for the money?

an example comes to mind: dragon ash first started out labelled as a "rock" band because their superiors thought they would have a better chance breaking out within that market. as they got more famous they slowly tried evolving into their true style, which can be considered more hip hop. i wouldn't say that this band "sold out" just because they started out with a different musical style to gain a bigger fanbase. i believe their old style and their new style equally make them what they are today.

so people who claim they dislike when a band gets famous aren't true fans, rather selfish people who like the 'title' of being the cool kid who knows about bands their friends haven't heard of yet.

[Gigi]

^ I love you so much right now.

[shanaynay]

Well some bands start slacking once they get popular. They know they can just crank out crappy songs Cd's etc., and all the pre-teen devotees will just eat it up.

[Gryffindor-Girl]

I have had this happen to me. My favorite band of all time is Boys like Girls and I liked them like a year before they where popular. I found them on myspace music one day and I was instantly hooked. Then when people asked me what my favorite band was I would say Boys like Girls and then they would have the most confused look on there face and ask who are they? I felt it made me a little bit more unique but now almost everybody has heard of them so bye bye to being unique... But in the end I could go on forever about this so my last statement is that I am Extremely happy for them and there success; but on the other hand I am mad I am not one of the minority who know of them and like them anymore.

[superstitious]

Foolish elitism. It's retarded. You don't have to stop liking artists exclusively because of their popularity.

[mipadi]

More often than not, though, an artist's music does change when they become popular; or rather, they have to change their music to be popular. Part of the reason is that, to be a well-known musician, you pretty much have to be on a major label; and when you're on a major label, you lose a lot of artistic control over your music. When you're on an indie label, you can basically do whatever you feel like -- explore new sounds, do new stuff, or just do something "weird". But when you're on a major label, you have to be palatable to the masses, and a lot of times that's tired and boring.

[*paperplane*]

^Case in point: Death Cab for Cutie.

As an admitted musical elitist, I have to say, I can't really help it. Generally, when a band gets too popular and is accepted by the masses, it loses something. I don't feel like taking the time to describe what that something might be, but as someone who loves music, it kills it a little bit to have to share with those who are apathetic at best. I also hate big and sold out shows. I prefer to be able to pay less to see a band comfortably and among people who are there for more than that one song they liked on the radio. The audience can really make or break a show, and generally when the band gets too popular the audience is going to suck.

[superstitious]

Ok, let me clarify something. If the music changes than of course I understand why people would stop liking music but if they stop liking music (if the music is essentially the same) merely because of gained popularity, that's entirely different situation.