Independent music

Although "Indie" was first used to described music released on independent record labels, the term grew to describe a specific sound. A defining characteristic of indie music is that artists retain much more creative control over their music as compared to major labels. 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.

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. 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 concepts like Virgin Records. 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 era, the number of independent labels grew. In 1977, Manchester-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, Fiction, and Mute) contributed to the emergence of a distinct musical style found in indie music, influenced by post-punk and new wave. Important albums that contributed to this style include Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Depeche Mode'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 80s, the indie pop band The Smiths, 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 of the time.

The UK Indie Chart was first compiled in 1980, and independent distribution became better organized from the late 1970s onward. In 1986, NME released the compilation album C86, which was influential to the spread of indie music. In the United States, independent music was first spread by in the 80s by college radios and thus dubbed college rock (also later termed modern rock and alternative rock). Defining American albums of this era include Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation (1988) and Pixies’ Doolittle (1989). However, unlike the UK, this music was not referred to as "indie" until the 00s.

Indie music reached wide commercial success in the 1990s, especially with Britpop, with bands like Blur, Pulp, and Oasis receiving worldwide acclaim. As well, American grunge bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins received mainstream success. In 1991, the Grammys added an Alternative section for "non-traditional form[s]" existing "outside of the mainstream music consciousness".

21st century

The internet's ease of spreading information influenced indie music's global spread and popularization in the United States. 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, as seen in Fleet Foxes or Bon Iver. Widely popular indie rock bands of this era include Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys. 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".

Some independent labels distribute their own product while others distribute via a major label. Independents may be owned by a major label who then distribute for them.

Contracts

Independent label contracts typically resemble contracts offered by major labels because they have similar legal liabilities to define before representing an artist. There are differences, however, usually with regards to less advances, lower studio costs, lower royalties, but fewer album options. Due to financial constraints, independents typically spend much less on marketing and promotion than major labels. But with lower royalties rates typically paid to artists and lower production and promotion costs, independent labels generally can turn a profit off lower volumes of sales than a major label can.

Although not common, there have been instances of profit-sharing deals with independent labels in which an act can get as much as 40–50% of the net profits. In this type of contract, the net gain after all expenses have been taken out are divided between the label and artist by a negotiated percentage. However, deals in this form can take longer for an artist to gain any profits, if at all, since all expenses – such as recording, manufacturing, publicity and marketing, music videos, etc., are also taken into account. Only if an independent artist becomes vastly popular are deals of this type more advantageous.

Independent labels rely heavily on personal networking, or "word of mouth", to expose their acts. Independent labels tend to avoid high budget marketing tactics, which usually does not fall in the budget of an independent label. This of course contributes to the overall lower production cost, and may help the artist to receive royalties sooner, if warranted. Major labels tend to watch indie label artists and gauge their success, and may offer to sign acts from independents when their contract is up. The major may also request to buy the contract of the act from the independent label before the contract is up, giving the independent label a hefty financial payment if they choose to sell the contract.

Differences between independent and major labels

Many acts 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. Some acts, however, may choose not to go to a major label if given the opportunity, as independence generally offers more freedom.

Major label advances are generally much larger than independent labels can offer. Some smaller independent labels offer no advance at all; just recording cost, album packaging, and artwork, which is also recoupable. If an artist gets no advance at all, they owe their record company less money, thus allowing them to start receiving royalty checks earlier; that is, if sales warrant any royalty checks at all.

A successful independent label with a strong musical reputation can be very appealing to a major label. Major labels look at independent labels to stay current with the ever-changing music scene.

Independent labels tend to be more open creatively, however, an independent label that is creatively productive is not necessarily financially lucrative. Independent labels are often operations of one, two, or only half a dozen people, with almost no outside assistance and run out of tiny offices.

Many current artists use their own resources to produce, record, market and release music through Spotify, SoundCloud, and other streaming platforms with social media 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.

• Underground music
• Indie music scenes

• Fonarow, Wendy Cagur. Empire of Dirt: The Aesthetics and Rituals of British Indie Music. Wesleyan, 2006. ISBN 0-8195-6811-2