"'Sellout' is a term invented by jealous quitters." Casey Neistat isn't mincing words in his latest vlog, and I have to say: I agree with everything he said.
Being in a creative industry is hard enough, so it drives me absolutely crazy when I see how much our peers tend to sabotage and tear each other down. I used to wonder why I experienced it so much in music, even from those who were supposed to be my friends, and then I realized it was exactly what Neistat is saying in this amazing video: they were people who didn't have the drive to lock themselves in a room with a piano for 14 hours to get that passage just right. So instead, they tore everyone around them down to distract from their own perceived inadequacies. I call that shade my "Haterade" now; it tells me I'm doing something right, and it fuels me.
I think Neistat is spot-on in his assertion that those who hate on successful people tend to forget the massive amounts of hard work and uncertainty that were endured by that person. We tend to oversimplify that which we don't know or understand, and when that couples with jealousy, you get a lot of haters. I found Neistat's message inspiring and a good reminder to all creatives: keep doing what you do and only listen to the voices of those you trust. The rest is all static.
I'll take your word for it. He's just too annoying for me to watch.
I had never even heard of him till Fstoppers did three articles in a week about him.
I don't understand why anyone would label him a sellout. Do people think he owes them something? He gets to do what he loves and make great money. Isn't that what everyone strives for?
On the flip side, if I had his money and resources I couldn't care less what people call me, let alone enough to make a video about it.
I think to some degree though, everyone cares about how people perceive them. I wouldn't want to be perceived as a hypocrite or a jerk no matter what my financial status is. Ultimately, you can't let what other people think dictate personal or business decisions and I totally get that. I think the point of the video was to encourage people not to use terms like "sellout" too loosely and maybe even educate them on what the term means. A politician compromising his strong moral beliefs for political gain would be a good example of a "sellout." It doesn't appear to me that Casey has done anything to warrant being labeled a sellout and even if he has, I don't think any of his viewers know him well enough to make that judgement. I would hope that when people label him that, they are not referring to the fact he sold his failing app. to CNN. Once again, the negativity and hypocrisy that the term "sellout" implies, would be completely inaccurate in that case.
Partially that's how he made his success. I guess if you had over 6 million subscribers you would also make a video about it but we will never know...
I don't see anything wrong with getting paid to do what you love... People who bitch about it are most likely broke and wish it was them.
I think a great many people confuse "sellout" with successful. To each their own i guess
I don't think it's just the quitters and the least successful people that pour on the hate. There is a lot of that in the creative world, from the least successful to the most successful. Big egos and all that comes with.
To me, being called a "sellout" wouldn't be an insult. I'd consider it a backhanded compliment hurled by someone who doesn't understand what goals are, what dedication is, what capitalizing on an opportunity looks like, and that doesn't understand that most people have a very limited opportunity to make enough money to live the rest of their life comfortably actually looks like.
I have absolutely zero data to back this up, but I still believe it's true with every ounce of who I am: there's not a single successful artist (let's call success: someone who achieves fame/notoriety before they peak and is compensated for it well enough to live comfortably) who has NOT been called a "sellout" (or something like that) by at least one person. Not one.
And truthfully, being a "sellout" is really just the realization of a goal and/or dream. When someone says: I want to be a photographer. What that means is: I'd like to have photography be my career or life's work. Well, when something is your career, it pays your bills, it puts food on your table, it clothes your kids and puts food in your mouth. It also funds your retirement and if you're lucky, allows you to leave something behind after you die to make your loved one's lives easier too. That's what a successful career looks like, and it's also what being a sellout looks like. So, whenever someone says "I want to be ______" they're really saying "I want to be a sellout in this field: _______".
I think "success" and "sellout" are the same thing, the way most people use it.
A TRUE "sellout" is someone who compromises their dreams, goals, and aspirations to such an extent that what they're doing is no longer consistent with what they truly want.
In effect you're agreeing with Casey.
yep. Absolutely.
I agree. The term "sellout" implies hypocrisy, which seems like a ridiculous accusation for a guy who has consistently plied his trade to huge brands for many years. He's never pretended to do otherwise, so why would we be surprised when he does it again?
The deal is simple - if we don't like the change in direction Casey Neistat (or any entertainer) has taken, then we simply stop following him. No point telling anyone else about it. He doesn't owe his viewers anything.
That's a worthy goal.
I don't get the sell out thing. It's an easy term to throw around. Casey is successful, but I find the whole vlog scene a bit past it's best before date. Sometimes it pays to cash out at or before the peak..besides in these emotionally charged days it helps to dig a bit and think about things from the other persons perspective. It's often more complicated that first appearances.
I did a quick word search on the first 1,009 comments on Casey Neistat's recent video "Muslim ban at JFK airport". Here's what I found:
sell out : 0
sellout : 0
sell-out : 0
sold out : 1
So it doesn't seem that "sell out" is actually a common complaint against him at all. It appears Neistat has set up a straw man with his "Sellout" video.
But there were some complaints about his move to CNN. "CNN" occurred in 16 of the 1,000 comments. The nature of those complaints seemed to be about the perceived change in his content, not about the fact he sold his business to them. Here are some samples:
- Stop being CNN's puppet this is bullshit.
- Casey works with CNN now! CNN most be his only source of news now!
- 1st it's not a ban 2nd nice propaganda once again, you have a platform to be honest and you choose to be just like cnn. have your opinions please don't distort the facts
- you can tell casey works for cnn his view is one sided
- CNNeistat.
- it is a shame that you did not use your ability to create a film which gave a rounded and more accurate view of what was really dictated. this video is simply a one sided propaganda tool which I guess your CNN paymasters require
In fact, the single comment that used the term "sold out" was actually in the same vein: "Of course, mainstream media (like good ole CNN) would have you think differently. They are the biggest fear mongers in history. And I am so sorry Casey sold out to them. I'm sure they wanted his demographic to become influenced with their way of thinking and scare tactics and lies."
So I suggest Casey Neistat's video about being called a "sellout" is a straw man. I'm sure someone has called him one somewhere, but this would be a rare outlier.
He would more accurately reflect his detractors' complaints if he responded to being called a "puppet", for peddling propaganda in line with the mainstream media, or for parroting the views of his CNN masters. This is the thing most of his detractors seem to be accusing him of.
There were a couple youtube videos that called him a sell out and got a good amount of views. And on the video where he announced that he sold beme to CNN it was mentioned a ton.
Thanks Kris, that is interesting. I wasn't aware of those videos. Maybe down the track he'll address the complaints that a chunk of his followers are making now they've seen him in action as a CNN employee.
He is no sell-out. It is bloody hard to attract millions of viewers on a youtube channel. You have to be some sort of genius to pull that off. He did it and that is nothing short of brilliant.
What's laughable is that all those people calling him a "sell out" would have done the same thing in his position...
Having the option to work with a multi millionaire company that secures you to do the work you love, with a huge amount of money for you, the people and friends who work with you and the people who believed in your project and backed it up financially, with no real deal breaker strings attached is what WE ALL would dream to have!
I don't know much about this person but if he had his own thing going on YouTube where he was free to speak his mind and now he works for CNN where he is no longer able to do so, then yes he is a sellout. He sold his ability to speak freely. By definition he did sellout.
That said, it's his life. If he feels comfortable not being able to speak his own mind and work for himself, then that is his choice. Someone else will take his place on YouTube.