I'll always think of it as independent of major publicly held for-profit corporations, but I understand that it means other things to other people - an ethos, a community, a style, an aesthetic or a sound.Ĭarly Starr, international marketing and promotion, Sub Pop Records:Īndrew Leland, managing editor, The Believer: Slim Moon, Shotclock Management founder, Kill Rock Stars: I don't have a personal answer to this, but there's a funny thing in Kaya Oakes' book Slanted and Enchanted - she asks her students this question every semester, and invariably someone says, "Skinny jeans." I think this may say as much about contemporary youth culture as it says about music. Rob Walker, co-founder of and author of Buying In: It means a band who cultivated a fan base for at least one album before they had any kind of money or marketing behind them. Tristan Aaron, Media Director, Women's Media Center: For better or worse, "indie" music is less slick, more personal, more idiosyncratic, but these days it can be just as generic, and simply of lower quality. I try to keep it real, only music released on truly independent labels can use the name, but really the term can relate to a level of professionalism. But I hear so many bands that are trying to be DCFC and not being original and I think rolled jeans, ironic t-shirt, and a messenger bag.īoring bands that I have never heard but have seen their name written a thousand times that sell out Emo's and probably hate the Troggs. And that isn't disrespectful to them, they are a great band and make great music and quite possibly are in line with the earlier description. But to tell the truth, when someone says to me "indie," I hear Death Cab for Cutie. I want to say it means bands of any genre that operate with an independent philosophy, that are driven by creating their music regardless of how different and are direct descendents of Fugazi and the whole Flaming Lips DIY approach. Jimi Biron, Executive Director of Booking, Crystal Ballroom:
That "indie rock" as a classification doesn't exist any more. It has some relevance on the business side but none at all in the way Lou Barlow meant it in "gimme indie rock". It means not having an affiliation or financial obligation to a larger organization and having the freedom to act accordingly.
The term "indie" implies willfully operating outside any system that confines music to a commodity.Īndrew Kesin, co-owner, Ecstatic Peace Records: Now its just a section at Target.ĭavid Lester, graphic artist guitarist, Mecca Normal:
In the very distant past it signified a non-corporate M.O. Garage band rock, guitars, white guys in skinny jeans, unshowered, and with crazy unkempt hair, SXSW. Anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you, and should be viewed with suspicion. "Indie" does not refer to a style of music it refers to the financial circumstances of its distribution. "Indie" is short for "independent." Independently released music is not directly financially dependent on any of the four major labels (WMG, Sony BMG, EMI and Universal). Here is another question we asked:ĭiscuss our respondents' answers and leave your own in the comments section. As part of our ongoing end-of-the-decade coverage, we sent out a survey to various people in the music, arts and entertainment communities.
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