Who's Selling Out Now?

Remember back in the late 80's when Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood hawked their latest songs via Beer commercials? I remember artists blasting both for "selling out". Two of the most prominent were Neil Young and John Mellencamp. It's wrong, they said to give in to the man like that. They would never. Well, one day a car commercial comes on and buried in the background is "Now More Than Ever" by Mellencamp. This caught my ear more than the car caught my eye. I figured he was donating all the money from this ad to Katrina or something. But read this Mellencamp, and you'll find that he's found out that his records won't sell anymore without TV exposure. Neil Young has a My Space page www.myspace.com/neilyoung. Is that selling out? Well, the internet has created a new way of selling out. Get on My Space and stream your music. But remember My Space has an ad banner on top of their pages. Young's included. And, when Warner promoted Young's 2004 Greatest Hits album, they used TV to advertise it. What most acts forget when they say they'll never sell out is that they already have. The minute you sign to a major label or even an indie you've given the company the right to market your name. It's time to apologize to Clapton/Winwood.