Sell out!

Have you ever had a favorite band go from underground darlings to overnight sensations? It’s an odd feeling. One day, you’re standing a few feet away from them at an intimate club show, well within range of catching a guitar pick, drumstick or maybe if you’re unlucky, just some spittle. The next thing you know, they’ve ditched their regional record label and are playing stadiums and The Late Show. You’re hearing their music in commercials or at the grocery store.

When I was a kid, we called it selling out. But these days, I don’t think that matters much anymore. I respect the artist’s right to make enough money to not starve. If they can find a way to succeed despite today’s streaming music revenue model being stacked against them, good for them.

I think plant breeders are a lot like songwriters. They toil away and tinker (with chord progressions or recessive traits), trying to use what’s been done before them as a springboard to make something completely new and exciting.

But one day, they unlock something special. They write that one amazing song that could be a worldwide hit. All it needs is more people to hear it. So the artist signs with a major label, and the marketing team works to get that song to a wider audience. Before you know it, they’re playing festivals and thousands of fans are singing along. Yes, ticket prices have gone up, but the artist is living his or her best life on the cover of Rolling Stone.

That’s the power of branding. The people behind the brand market a plant and convince consumers it’s better than the one growing in that plain black pot.

I remember watching an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music on Metallica. The band had shed its underground label and become the biggest rock band in the world. Bassist Jason Newsted dismissed the critics that called them sellouts. “Yeah, we sell out… (dramatic pause) Every seat in the house, for every show, any time we play.”

I think plant breeders should take a similar approach. If you create something that has commercial appeal, take your demo to the major labels of the hort world. If they think it will sell, they’ll make you an offer. And they’re the ones that can turn that plant into a star (and get you paid). There’s absolutely no shame in selling out. In our cover story this month, I spoke with Mark Andrews, brand and marketing manager for Greenleaf Nursery.

“When you’re managing plant genetics, you’re managing it for breeders,” Andrews says. “And what the breeders want is their plant out there. They want it to be recognized, but they also want money. They want the royalty check.”

Did you see a famous band before they got famous? Do you know any rock star plant breeders? I’d love to hear the story.