Based on a trove of original interviews and personal stories from band members and other crucial players, Ozzi examines how 11 groups - from Green Day and Blink-182 to At the Drive-In, Thursday, and Against Me! - grappled with the tension between punk’s core tenets and major label possibilities, and parses what success and failure looked like in this fraught realm.
Sellout specifically examines the post-Nirvana goldrush as major labels descended on punk scenes with big promises and bigger stacks of money, sparking fierce debates among bands and fans over authenticity and independence. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures.In his new book, Sellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007), author Dan Ozzi examines the fraught decision that’s plagued some of the world’s greatest punk bands for decades: Whether or not to sign that record contract? In Sellout, seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. The result was a schism: those who accepted the cash flow of the majors, and those who defiantly clung to their indie cred. But the DIY punk scene, which had long prided itself on its trademark authenticity and anti-establishment ethos, wasn’t quite ready to let their homegrown acts go without a fight. Looking to replicate the band’s success, major record labels set their sights on the underground, and began courting punk’s rising stars. After indie favorite Nirvana catapulted into the mainstream with its unexpected phenomenon, Nevermind, rebellion was suddenly en vogue.
Punk rock found itself at a crossroads in the mid-90’s. "Ozzi's reporting is strong, balanced and well told.a worthy successor to its obvious inspiration, Michael Azerrad's 2001 examination of the '80s indie underground, 'Our Band Could Be Your Life.'"-New York Times Book ReviewĪ raucous history of punk, emo, and hardcore’s growing pains during the commercial boom of the early 90s and mid-aughts, following eleven bands as they “sell out” and find mainstream fame, or break beneath the weight of it all
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