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

Some music artists are called sellouts. What's a sellout, you might ask? A sellout is someone that only makes music for money and doesn't make it with passion.

Some artists have been falsely labeled this, and it can get annoying.

The Top Ten

Green Day

Green Day are an American pop punk and punk rock band formed in East Bay, California, in 1987. The core members are Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), and Tré Cool (drums), with Jason White often performing live on guitar. They blend punk rock, pop punk, and alternative rock, drawing... read more

I never understood this. All that happened is that their music became 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 they also remained pretty political.

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

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

Linkin Park is an American alternative rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The current members include Mike Shinoda (vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), Joe Hahn (DJ), Emily Armstrong (vocals), and Colin Brittain (drums). Linkin Park... read more

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 musical quality (more complexity) and takes more talent and effort to create.

Just because One More Light was poppy doesn't make them sellouts. With that logic, every artist who tries a different sound is a sellout.
Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums), and Brad Whitford (guitar)... read more
Nirvana

Nirvana was an American grunge band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. The band consisted of Kurt Cobain (vocals, guitar), Krist Novoselic (bass), and Dave Grohl (drums), who joined in 1990. Nirvana disbanded following Cobain's death by suicide in 1994.... read more

Kurt Cobain tried everything not to please the mainstream, like not playing their most popular song anymore.
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd are an English progressive rock band formed in 1965 in London, England. They gained international acclaim with their innovative, conceptual music blending progressive rock and psychedelia. The classic lineup included Syd Barrett (vocals and guitar), David Gilmour (vocals and guitar), Nick... read more

Another Brick in the Wall was the closest they got to selling out, but they never really sold out.

I have heard people call this band a sellout. However, I don't see what makes them a "sellout."
Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy and thrash metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup included James Hetfield (vocals and rhythm guitar), Dave Mustaine (lead guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), and Ron McGovney (bass). They first gained mainstream fame with their 1991 self-titled album (The Black Album... read more

Thrash metal was on a big low during the 1990s, with many bands disbanding and many albums being released that were deemed mediocre. Metalheads also grew tired of the sub-genre, moving on to death metal and black metal instead, while newcomer rock fans were 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 experimented with nu-metal on Diabolus in Musica, and Anthrax paved 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.)
If Metallica is to be called a sellout for trying something different in the 90s, all of the Big Four would be victims of being called that anyway. The only reason Metallica was accused was simply for being the most popular metal band around (aside from Pantera).
Eminem

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, actor, and music producer born on October 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem has sold over 220 million records, making him the best-selling hip-hop artist of all time. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of D12 and (with... read more

Eminem was heavily on drugs during "Encore" and "Relapse," and while the albums were still awesome, they featured a more immature humor (which I personally like). He then restarted completely on "Recovery" because he felt the quality was decreasing, and others said the same. None of his old concepts are found there. He completely focused on lyrical quality.
Anthrax

Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The band is considered one of the Big Four of thrash metal, alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth. They are known for albums such as Among the Living and for pioneering the fusion... read more
Dave Grohl

David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, and film director. He was the drummer for the influential 1990s grunge band Nirvana and is the founding vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Foo Fighters. He has also performed as... read more

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

Weezer is an American alternative rock and power pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1992. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals).... read more

The Newcomers

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Maroon 5

Maroon 5 is an American pop and pop‑rock band formed in Los Angeles, California. The group originally came together in 1994 under the name Kara's Flowers, when Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and Ryan Dusick were still in high school. They self‑released a demo and a studio album before... read more
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Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold 20 million albums worldwide and more than 20 million singles, bringing her total record sales to over 40 million globally.

The Contenders

Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is an American pop punk band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley.... read more
Avril Lavigne

Avril Ramona Lavigne (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. At age 14, she won a radio contest singing with Shania Twain, performing before a large arena crowd. By age 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records, reportedly worth over $2 million.... read more
Paramore

Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. They rose to fame with albums like Riot! (2007) and Brand New Eyes (2009), known for blending pop-punk and alternative... read more
My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey, formed in 2001. The lineup since 2019 includes lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, bassist Mikey Way, and drummer Jarrod Alexander. Bob Bryar was the drummer from 2004 to 2010. The band has released critically... read more

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

They were an emo band from start to finish. They never sold out at all.

No, each album having a different sound isn't selling out unless they completely turn from rock to pop.
Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace is a Canadian post-grunge and alternative rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario, in 1992. The original lineup consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. Initially named Groundswell, the band changed its name... read more

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

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (December 3, 1948 - July 22 2025) was an English singer, songwriter, and television personality, often nicknamed "The Prince of Darkness." He rose to fame in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of Black Sabbath.... read more

He still makes rock and metal. The TV shows and personalities are the fault of two things: his funny character and $haron.
Def Leppard

Def Leppard are an English hard rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement.
The band rose to international fame with albums like Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987), the latter of which sold over 20 million copies worldwide. They were inducted... read more

Yes, they started out as a metal band and 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. They had passion for their music, and they certainly care about their fans.
Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was an English hard rock band formed in London in 1968 as the New Yardbirds. The group consisted of Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones (bass, keyboard), and John Bonham (drums). The band was largely the brainchild of Jimmy Page, who even financed their first tour... read more

I've never heard people saying they sold out.
Ramones

The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in 1974 in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York City. They're widely credited with defining the punk rock sound.

They just went from punk rock to pop-punk. They became punk rock again in the '90s, though.
Evan Taubenfeld

Evan David Taubenfeld is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for being Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist, music director, and a frequent collaborator. Taubenfeld was also the lead singer of the band The Black List Club.
Thirty Seconds To Mars

Thirty Seconds to Mars (stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of brothers Jared and Shannon Leto.
They released their first album, 30 Seconds to Mars, in 2002. It was a self-titled album with... read more

Like Linkin Park, just because an artist tries a different sound doesn't make them a sellout.
Trivium

Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band's most consistent members are frontman Matt Heafy, lead guitarist Corey Beaulieu, and bassist Paulo Gregoletto, all of whom have appeared on every album since joining.... read more

Trust me on this one. Those who grew up with Ascendancy or Shogun keep pouting about how Trivium lost their sound and became "commercialized sellouts." They constantly complain about how bad In Waves to Silence in the Snow were, yet they fail 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 major reason why The Crusade featured mostly clean vocals.
For such an amazing band, a good fraction of Trivium's fanbase consists of nosy and bratty people who can't accept that bands need to evolve. Expecting them to make Shogun 2.0 would be dumb and repetitive.
Theory of a Deadman

Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian post-grunge band. Formed in 2001, the band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as 604 Records. They were discovered by Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger. Theory of a Deadman has gone on to release eight studio albums. Their most well-known songs include... read more
Silbermond

Silbermond is a German alternative rock band formed in 2000. Its members are Stefanie Kloß (vocals), Thomas Stolle (guitar), Johannes Stolle (bass), and Andreas Nowak (drums).
Their 2004 debut album, Verschwende deine Zeit, became a breakout hit in Germany. All of their subsequent albums have... read more
Tokio Hotel

Tokio Hotel is a pop rock band from Magdeburg, Germany, formed in 2001. The group consists of Bill Kaulitz on vocals, Tom Kaulitz on guitar, Gustav Schäfer on drums, and Georg Listing on bass and keyboard.
They rose to fame in Germany with their 2005 debut album Schrei, when most members were... read more

After their hiatus, they came back with a more electronica-based sound instead of their old emo-ish alternative rock. It's mostly their American fans who say they sold out. However, this change was actually a result of the band moving to the US during that time and getting 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.