independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentmajor labels. Independent labels use a variety of methods of distribution, with the label generally owning the copyright for the sound recording. They generally give smaller advances, or sometimes no advance, and some may offer higher royalty splits than major labels.

Characteristics

Although "Indie" was first used to described music released on independent record labels, the term grew to describe a specific sound because of the creative freedom of its initial bands and artists. A defining characteristic of indie music is that artists retain much more creative control over their music as compared to major labels. Bands often have small budgets, and employ a do-it-yourself ethos which influences their sound. Indie music generally represents guitar-oriented music which strays away from commercial conventions. It often features lyrics that are earnest and emotive, with many cultural and sociopolitical references. Many artists signed to major labels have retained creative control and are still considered indie artists.

History

Origins of independent labels

Independent labels have a long history of promoting developments in popular music, stretching back to the post-war period in the United States, with labels such as Sun Records, King Records, and Stax.Rogan, Johnny (1992) "Introduction" in ''The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music'', Guinness Publishing, In the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s, the major record companies had so much power that independent labels struggled to become established, until the launch of new labels like

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. Several British producers and artists launched independent labels as outlets for their work and artists they liked; the majority failed as commercial ventures or were bought by the major labels.

Emergence as a style

During the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

era, the number of independent labels grew. In 1977,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

-band Buzzcocks released '' Spiral Scratch'', considered the first independently released rock release. In the late 1970s, certain UK independent labels (such as Rough Trade,

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

,

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

, and Mute) contributed to the emergence of a distinct musical style found in indie music, which was influenced by

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and new wave. Important albums that contributed to this style include Joy Division's '' Unknown Pleasures'' (1979) and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

's '' Speak & Spell'' (1981). Released on Rough Trade, '' Inflammable Material'' (1979) was the first independently-released album to sell over 100,000 copies. By the 1980s, the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, signed with Rough Trade, "came to exemplify indie both musically and culturally" according to ''The Conversation''. The Smith's authentic sound contrasted with the common highly produced

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

of the time. The

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

was first compiled in 1980, and independent distribution became better organized from the late 1970s onward.Lazell, Barry (1997) "Indie Hits 1980–1989", Cherry Red Books, In 1986,

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

released the compilation album '' C86'', which was influential to the development of indie music. In the United States, independent music was first spread by in the 1980s by college radios and thus dubbed college rock (also later termed

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

). Defining American albums of this era include

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

'' Daydream Nation'' (1988) and Pixies' ''Doolittle'' (1989). However, unlike the UK, this music was not referred to as "indie" until the 2000s. Indie music reached wide commercial success in the 1990s, especially with

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

bands like Blur, Pulp, and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment As well, American grunge bands like Nirvana,

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, and

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

received mainstream success. In 1991, the

Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

added an Alternative section to its awards ceremony, for "non-traditional form existing "outside of the mainstream music consciousness".

21st century

The

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

's ease of spreading information influenced indie music's popularization in the United States and global spread. Music fans no longer relied on publications or magazines to hear about new artists. At the beginning of the 21st century, the term indie came to describe a number of related but distinct subgenres. One example is indie folk, a stripped-back low fidelity approach to

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, as seen in Fleet Foxes or Bon Iver's first album, '' For Emma, Forever Ago''. Widely popular

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

bands of this era include Arcade Fire and

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

. By this time, the term indie had transcended the definition of solely independently released music, and came to represent a "general resistance to popular and mainstream culture, evoking realism, independence and authenticity".

Independent record labels

An

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

is one that operates outside of the funding and creative control of major record labels. Independent labels generally have greater creative freedom, at the cost of smaller budgets and personnel. They are often able to support artists working in niche styles of music, and rely heavily on personal networking, or word of mouth, to expose their acts. Indie labels are usually small operations, with almost no outside assistance and run out of tiny offices. Some artists choose to go from an independent label to a major label if given the opportunity, as major labels have considerably more power and financial means to promote and distribute products, sometimes increasing the chances of greater success.

Distribution

There are a few ways an independent label may go about distributing its music. Some independent labels are owned by major labels, who carry out the distribution for them. Other labels instead go through independent distributors. Many current artists use their own resources to produce, record, market and release music through

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, SoundCloud, and other streaming platforms with

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

in a direct, do-it-yourself manner allowing creative distribution. There is the potential for artists to gain large numbers of streams on Spotify if their music are included in certain popular playlists. For both independent and major labels, the label generally owns the copyright to the sound recording. Artists who maintain their copyrights usually must sacrifice other parts of their deal, and must give the label a temporary license to the recordings.

Contracts

An advance is a pre-payment of royalties from the label for the artist to record the album; it is paid back through the album's royalties. Independent labels generally give out much smaller advances than major labels, if any. Additionally, some independent labels will cover an album's recording costs instead of proving a set dollar amount as an advance. One advantage of smaller advances is that artists have less to pay back, and therefore can begin to profit quicker. There are a number of ways that an independent label may structure their contract. Some independent labels have contracts that are essentially equivalent to major label deals. On a major label, a typical royalty rate (what the artist takes) is 13% to 16%; however, some independent labels offer 50-50 splits, which functions more as a partnership. One issue is that artists often forgo their mechanical royalties in 50-50 deals, and it can be more difficult to recoup the advance, meaning it takes longer to turn a profit. Some labels forgo a formal contract altogether, and their deals include few restrictions.

Styles

Independent music is a broad category that is made up of distinct subgenres with influences from various other genres.

Indie pop

Indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

is a style of pop music that originally grew out of British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

in the late 1970s. Indie pop was one of the first independent music genres, and was initially synonymous with "indie". Indie pop is characterized by a focus on

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

, arrangements, and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, with less angst and

distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...

as compared to

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

. It features the homemade intimacy commonly found in independent music. Notable subgenres include chamber pop, which adds lush chamber orchestration, and twee pop, which features "primitive simplicity".

Indie rock

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

(also referred to as simply "indie") is a style of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

and is one of the most popular independent music genres. It originally grew out of the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

,

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, and independent movements of the 1980s, with local scenes emerging in many American cities and college towns. The New Zealand Dunedin sound of the 1970s and 80s was also influential in indie rock's development. By the 1990s, indie rock had separated from alternative rock and gained popularity in the mainstream, pushed along by the popularity of Seattle's

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

scene, especially Nirvana. Notable artists of the 2000s included

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

, while some of the 2010s included The 1975 and Vampire Weekend. Indie rock went onto inspire a multitude of subgenres and derivative styles, such as

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

, noise pop, lo-fi,

math rock Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...

, emo, and more.

Indie folk

Indie folk is a style of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

which originated in the 1990s with artists like Elliott Smith and Will Oldham. The genre grew from traditional and contemporary folk, but took a distinctly independent approach inspired by indie rock. The genre gained further popularity and support in the 2000s from labels such as Saddle Creek, Barsuk, and

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

. Notable 21st century indie folk artists include Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Great Lake Swimmers,

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

, and Phoebe Bridgers. Indie folk is distinguished by its acoustic instrumentation – and often consists of just vocals and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

– although some artists experiment with more diverse instrumentation. As well, indie folk artists are often singer-songwriters. PostalService color300dpi by Brian Tamborello

PostalService color300dpi by Brian Tamborello

Indie electronic

Indie electronic, also known as indietronica, is a broad categorization of music that combines independent and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

styles. It is not considered a scene or movement, and often combines influences from a variety of genres. It has origins in the 1990s, with artists like Stereolab, Arab Strap, and Disco Inferno contributing to the style. Indietronica largely grew in popularity in the 2000s, with the rising accessibility to home recording and software synthesizers. Influential artists of this era include Hot Chip, Metronomy, and The Postal Service. Some 2010s artists achieved wider success with their music, for example, James Blake and The xx. Indietronica artists usually release their music on independent labels, with examples including

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

, Warp, and Ghostly International.

References

Sources

*

Characteristics

History

Origins of independent labels

Emergence as a style

21st century

Independent record labels

Distribution

Contracts

Styles

Indie pop

Indie rock

Indie folk

Indie electronic

See also

References

Sources

Further reading