What the hell is Indie?

What the hell exactly is indie anyway? People have so many opinions on what indie is. When you talk to people in the hip-hop scene and you get the idea of what hip-hop is, talk to people in the metal scene and you get the idea, the folk scene, but indie?? **** is confusing. What the hell exactly is indie anyway? So many people have so many opinions on what indie exactly is.

I don't have anything against it as a genre, but I can't stand how the term is used in Britain now. Every band full of white guys with guitars and vintage clothing are labelled indie these days.

I always thought indie means 'independent' and that term is used in other genres, so how does a genre called 'independent' work?

twinkle twinkle flowers fairy shit

My understanding is that 'indie' means being signed to an independent record label, plain and simple. Allegedy this gives the artist/ group more freedom/ control/ artistic licence, much unlike being signed to a major label.

However, you will find that many so-called 'indie' labels are actually imprints or aligned in some way to a major label (marketing, distribution etc) who want access to the indie market by stealth.

So in essence 'indie' is not a genre, more like an anti-major label route of getting your product to market.

Indie it's when you are not signed to a major, but to an independent label. Quite often such micro-labels have distribution agreements with major thou, so it's quite broad definition. Also, the definition it's often abused as a self-liberating title for any wanna-be edgy bedroom musician which is not signed to any label at all. In this case, as you cleverly noticed, the definition tends to overshadow the music-genre... so that the self-called artist does not have to confront with the standard he's unconsciously withdrawing inspiration from.

EXAMPLE:

-Man your beats do not sound anywhere near to Hiphop...
-Yeah, I know... I'm not an hiphop producer dude, I do INDIE
-I see, I see...

EDIT: Basically as said in the message above...

this 100% sums up indie as a genre of music and stereotype

jnorth wrote:I don't have anything against it as a genre, but I can't stand how the term is used in Britain now. Every band full of white guys with guitars and vintage clothing are labelled indie these days.

The term definitely has a double meaning in the UK and it's been that way for over 20 years.

When I tell people I was into Indie in the late 80s and early 90s I honestly wouldn't know if those bands were on major labels or not, but people know exactly what and who I'm talking about.

drukqs2369 wrote:

this 100% sums up indie as a genre of music and stereotype

Not one person in that video is smoking a cigarette ..... posers

Indie = Independent. Hence, Indie Label. Meaning no major label. The term also describes "Indie Rock" but don't let that confuse you. Indie does not mean hipster trash. Think the Indie Rockers had to go "indie" because no major label could sell their music to the 80% mongoloid population who loves Nickleback.

When I think of indie... I think of hipsters, yes, but I also think "independent"

People who constantly refer to themselves as indie are hipsters. But truely being indie or independent means you dont have the backing of a major label. As an artist you yourself are taking most of the risk with releasing your music. You create, fund, and promote your own record. Now, indie labels are record labels who dont have large corporate financial backing so it removes some stress from the artist but as an artist you still find yourself doing a lot more grunt work.

Indie is now a lame marketing term

It used to be really cool shit from independent record labels in the 80's and early 90's and would refer to output from labels such as Mute, Rough Trade, Factory & 4AD - hence stuff like Smiths, Cure, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Loop, New Faster Automatic Daffodils.

Then Major Label marketing twigged that Indie Labels got a large amount of press because they were cool. The Indies even had there own charts which was full of cool shit instead of Wham, Madonna, Wet Wet Wet, Bryan Adams, Foreigner, Toto.

So Marketing suggested that Majors buy up indies & release shite under their newly acquired label to try and give the shite a bit of Kudos.

It didn't work and ended up bringing down the whole Indie genre with it.

Now we have turd such as Killers & Coldplay being refered to as Indie.

BAH!!!!!!!