Independent music

Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedom, low budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation. It originated from the liberties afforded by independent record labels. Indie music describes a number of related styles, but generally refers to guitar-oriented music that deviates from mainstream conventions. There are a number of subgenres of independent music which combine its characteristics with other genres, such as indie pop, indie rock, indie folk, and indie electronic. Additionally, in certain circles, the term indie has taken on a definition entirely based on the typical sound of independent music in the 1980s, losing its connection to production style.

The origins of independent music lie in the early distribution of private press albums from the 1960s–1970s as well as late '70s British independent record labels, from the early alternative music scene such as Rough Trade, Factory, Industrial Records and Mute, which later contributed to the development of alternative rock music. NME released the influential compilation album C86 in 1986, which helped define indie rock. American independent music first emerged in the 1980s, and was spread via college radios, which led to the term college rock. Styles that evolved out of indie music and reached wide commercial success in the 1990s include grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the Smashing Pumpkins) and Britpop (Blur, Pulp, and Oasis). In the 21st century, due to the internet, indie music saw a global spread in popularity, as music fans were no longer dependent on physical publications to find new music.

Independent record labels, important to the development of indie music, are characterized by their smaller operations, lower funding, and greater creative control as compared to major 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.

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.

Independent labels have a long history of promoting developments in popular music, stretching back to the post-war period in the United States, particularly in genres overlooked by major labels.

During the 1940s–1950s, labels such as King Records, Sun Records, and Stax played a crucial role in the development of jazz, rhythm and blues, and early rock and roll, which were initially sidelined by the majors and were also responsible for pioneering both musical innovation and production techniques that major labels would later emulate, with Atlantic being the first label to make recordings in stereo, while Sun and Chess introduced slapback echo and makeshift echo chambers. Additionally, independent labels were often the only platforms available for marginalized artists in America at the time, which included many Black musicians, as viable mediums to release and distribute their work.

By the 1960s, several British producers and artists launched independent labels as outlets for their work and artists they liked Joe Meek (Triumph Records), Andrew Loog Oldham (Immediate Records), Chris Wright with Terry Ellis (Chrysalis Records) and Larry Page (Page One Records). Independent labels gained further prominence in the American 1960s underground music scene such as ESP-Disk and International Artists. Other independent labels included those in Germany's krautrock scene like Kraftwerk's own label Kling Klang Records as well as Ohr, Brain, and Sky Records.

Prior to the late 1970s, major record companies held so much power that independent labels struggled to establish themselves. During this time, some popular artists formed their own labels, such as the Beatles' Apple Records, Frank Zappa's Straight and Bizarre Records, as well as the Rolling Stones' Rolling Stones Records and Grateful Dead's Grateful Dead Records. However, these ventures often failed commercially or were eventually absorbed by major labels, until the launch of new labels like Virgin Records.