Top 10 Music Artists that are Falsely Accused of Being Sell Outs

Changing music genres and still keeping true to your style isn't selling out. - TheDarkOne_221b

I agree. Hearing uno dos tre was extremely disappointing.

I never got this. All that happened is that their music got more complex, melodious and well thought out. Their older style was more direct and simple. To me, that's an improvement. Stylistically, they stayed the same. And also, they stayed pretty political. - Martin_Canine

They never sold out to begin with they were a punk band in the beginning and they're still a punk band now.

Thrash Metal was on a big low during the 1990s, with many bands disbanding and many albums being released deemed mediocre. Metalheads also grew tired of the sub-genre, moving on to Death Metal and Black Metal instead, and newcomer rock fans being more invested in Grunge music. Furthermore, all four of the big four tried something different during the 1990s; Megadeth also went soft with some ballads, Slayer experimenting with Nu Metal in Diabolus in Musica and Anthrax paving the way for Rap Metal. Metallica actually did the best out of the four during the mid-late 90s (Early 90s had Rust in Peace, Seasons in the Abyss and Persistence of Time to argue) and managed to stay relevant during that time.

If Metallica is to be called a sellout for trying something different in the 90s, all of the Big Four would be victim to being called that anyway. The only reason why Metallica was accused was simply for being the most popular metal band around (Aside from Pantera). - CrimsonShark

They definitely did not sell out. The Black Album is great. Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, what else is there not to like? And so what if it's not thrash? Who has the right to tell them to play thrash all the time? - SoldierOfFortune

I actually agree here, just because they wanted to do a more "Mainstream" sound doesn't mean they sold out as long as they had passion for it and still cared about the fans (and Metallica have always cared about the fans) - christangrant

Just because of Lulu, despite the fact their newest album proves they haven't sold out at all.

They were more called sellouts for the Black album as it was departure from Thrash to a more mainstream sound. - cjWriter1997

Just because he formed Foo Fighters doesn't make him a sellout.

I have heard people call this band a sell out however I don't see what makes them a "sell out" - christangrant

I have no idea if they really sold out, but what I know is I didn't like their non-rock sound. They neither managed to maintain the rough emotional component that made them one of the definite bands of their generation, nor to sound like a real pop band, lacking the infectiousness and catchiness. - Martin_Canine

Just because OML was poppy doesn't make them sellouts. With that logic every artist that tries a different sound is a sellout.

It was actually their dubstep phase which pushed people away - ProPanda

Not every artist that tries a different sound is a sellout by default.
It depends - if the different sound makes their music more appealing to a mainstream audience (poppier), this isn't good - it's the definition of selling out.
It's good if the new different sound has more music quality (more complex) and takes more talent/efforts to make. - Metal_Treasure

The fact is if any band changes sound, people call them sellouts. if they don't change their sound, people complain they don't ever change, everythings the same. - RustyNail

Yes they started out as a Metal band then switched their sound many times but in my opinion they aren't "Sellouts" the goal of Def Leppard was to be a household name just like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin so they had passion for their music and they certainly care about their fans. - christangrant

Why Anthrax? so far from sell out - heavyheavy

They just went to pop-punk from punk-rock. They again became punk rock in 90s though. - zxm

It gets so damn old... and annoying.

They are just experimenting for god's sake
They pop material is pure gold compared to Coldplay or Fall Out Boy

They kept their exact same style from first to last album, and have always had fairly thought out writing, performances and concepts. All of their albums had bigger ambitions than what the mainstream expects. - Martin_Canine

They were a emo band from start to finish. Never sold out at all.

Never heard people calling they sold out. - zxm

Kurt Cobain tried everything NOT to please the mainstream, like not playing their most popular song anymore. - Martin_Canine

Like LP just because a artist tries a different sound doesn't make them a sellout.

I hate to write this comment since Three Days Grace is one of my favourite bands, but at the same time I agree with them on the list as they are definitely still a passionate band, I also somewhat disagree. No, I'm not saying they are sell-outs, but Adam himself had pretty much admitted to a majority of "Transit of Venus" not coming from the heart. Again though, I think they're still a great band with a lot of passion for their music, so this comment was in no way intended to bash or throw hate at them.

They never sold out they're still a rock band that has passion for music like they always have.

I love Fall Out Boy and respect all of their music. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that each of their albums gets even pop-ier that the last. Especially after their hiatus. Sorry, but they sold out big time.

Guys, they make a fidget Spinner... A FIDGET SPINNER
These guys really sold out

They did sell out and they SOLD out hard.

Ugh, I can't believe people are calling them the WORST band ever just for one poppy album. I'm praying that Tyler will finally wake up (no pun intended) and realize what he's doing is ruining his life. 🙏 - Croy987

They started off as a pop punkish alternative rock band with straightforward and often cynical lyrics (e.g. "Zeit für Optimisten") and then became soft and more introverted indie pop (e.g. "Leichtes Gepäck"), but it was actually a slow but steady evolution from album to album, and they probably just matured and lost part of their teenage energy. - Martin_Canine

After their hiatus they came back with a more electronica based sound instead of their old emo-ish anternative rock. It's mostly their American fans who say they sold out. But this was actually a result of them having moved to the US in that time and got to know the American club scene better. Almost all German music critics (who weren't too friendly to Tokio Hotel before) saw this as a major improvement and it made the group more critically accepted. - Martin_Canine

He IS a sellout. He did it in many different ways. He wrote pop songs with metal riffs, had his own reality show, stared in terrible kids' shows, I can go on and on!

He isn't falsely accused. He did. Many times. In many different ways. - Metal_Treasure

But he is a sellout... - Metarock

Didn't he? - zxm

Trust me on this one; those who grew up with Ascendancy or Shogun keep pouting about Trivium lost their sound and become "commercialized sellouts". They constantly pander about how garbage In Waves to Silence in the Snow were, when they can't seem to realize that Trivium has really matured over the years. In addition, Matt Heafy noted that he wasn't into screaming vocals, which was a main reason for The Crusade being mostly sung on clean vocals.

For such an amazing band, a good fraction of Trivium's fanbase really is just nosy and bratty idiots who can't accept the fact that bands need to mature and change. They can't make a Shogun 2.0, that would be dumb and repetitive. - CrimsonShark

People say when he made AVA, he sold out. How? Just because he changed his style of music does not mean he is a sellout. AVA in fact is less popular than Blink-182, but Tom clearly enjoyed making music with AVA more, despite getting less fame and money, which means he is in for the music. He has said he has a constant need to make music himself.