"While we might be irked that our favorite band has sold a song to VW or McDonald's, we can instantly decontextualize and remove that song from its annoying commercial counterpart. When we don't buy full albums anyway, when we don't care about album sequence (which is all about intention) or look at the band's artwork or the label they're on (again, all intentional decisions), and when all of the songs we want are free-floating in the ether untethered, then advertisements aren't a source or means of "selling out." Instead, they're the new radio.
So, is it possible for a musician or band to sell out anymore? Probably. I think the bigger question is, why do we no longer care?"
- author and musician Carrie Brownstien of Sleater-Kinney on NPR's Monitor Mix
