"Selling out" wasn't about signing contracts, selling records, and getting paid. Those were and still are the primary goals of even the punkest bands. When $BAN

"Selling out" wasn't about signing contracts, selling records, and getting paid. Those were and still are the primary goals of even the punkest bands. When $BAND signs with $INDIE_LABEL no one accuses them of "selling out": friends and fans are happy for them and everyone knows that their first album will be a cleaner version of their second demo and everyone is perfectly OK with all that because it means more gigs, more tours, and more fun for everyone. The punk goes on. "Selling out" was about abandoning whatever the band or the scene was supposed to be about. It really was more of a moral thing. Of course it meant signing contracts but who they are signed with and what the consequences are for the artistic integrity of $BAND and $SCENE are very important in this case.