So why is it, compared to much of the rest of the music of
the past 30 or so years, that hardcore has had so little involvement with major
record labels? And the few that actually do, for example Bad Religion or more
recently Nails, are slated among the community for ‘selling out?’
Partly, I believe it’s because of
the incredible do-it-yourself work ethic of hardcore kids around the world. The
two somewhat prolific hardcore labels, SST and Dischord, were both started up
from the basement of a few people in their late teens who needed a medium to be
able to distribute their music and have their message spread and do the same
for their peers- at the time, bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag were at
the cutting edge of fast, angry, aggressive music- derided by the general
public who did not understand it- they were operating outside of social norms
and they liked it.
This, I believe, is why the
aforementioned bands, or any other band emerging from hardcore culture into a
major record deal are seen as ‘selling out’ and eschewing the culture that got
them to that point- joining a major label is their way of assimilating into the
same mainstream culture which had previously derided and ignored the music that
they make. Labels like Sony and EMI have a tendency to sanitise band’s sounds,
making them suitable for the masses- again, going against one of the central
philosophies of hardcore- doing what one wants, when one wants to.
Summed up neatly, corporate record
labels could arguably be considered the antithesis of hardcore, do-it-yourself
ethics. But are those who sign to these labels so wrong to choose financial
security and the ability to make music for a stable living, over some loosely
defined moral code? I personally believe it’s for the individual to decide.