Like a Rolling Stone: Consequences of Selling Out

In the mid 1960's there was a great conversion in the world of popular music.  In America, The Beatles were all the rage, with their signature brand of electric rock.  Meanwhile, for the field of folk music, everything was still played on acoustic guitar.  One of the most prominent folk artists, Bob Dylan, used to play exclusively on acoustic guitar; with many of his songs being a single take of him singing, strumming, and possibly playing harmonica.  However, Bob Dylan's fan base was fading due to The Beatles, and other recording artists, who were all using electric guitars, performing in ensembles, and experimenting with new electronic sounds.  So, around 1965, Bob Dylan converts to electric music with his album "Highway 61 Revisited."  The new style sounds nothing like his old sound, and therefore, the new style alienates a great percentage of Dylan's fan base.
In a similar manner, Beretta Smith-Shomade explains the way that Robert L. Johnson, the CEO of the BET, sold the network to Viacom.  In doing so, Johnson perpetrated the corruption of the original mission of the BET, by allowing the new owners to saturate the network with shows that targeted a broader and more diverse audience.  Apparently, the BET deviated from its original mission of showing "quality black entertainment" and instead shows a version of Black America epitomized by flashiness, rap music, and sex.  In doing so, the network expanded its audience, but at the same time, alienated the original fan base, causing a deal of outrage.
And so, the questions come to mind.  Is it worth it to essentially sell your soul in order to survive?  Is integrity the price of longevity?  Would it be better to remain true to your original ideals, even at the risk of failure?  There have been examples of this all throughout history, of "selling out."  We saw it with Bob Dylan and the electric revolution, and we saw it again with the BET being sold to Viacom.