What does it mean to be indie?

[Jason]

I see it as a rebellion to having be subject to record labels. In that sense, it's like punk. Well, indie means "independent".

 

[Flint]

What it means to be indie in the music industry is to be independent. They are music produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries which brings something different and unique to the fold. It's like what indie video games developers are bringing to the gaming industry too.

 

[Sara]

Indie stands for independent. They are those musicians that are not affiliated with any labels or groups. They are free from any control over their work and they can use any sound of their choice.

 

[Donald Reed]

I see it as a rebellion to having be subject to record labels. In that sense, it's like punk. Well, indie means "independent".

I think it means to do things on your terms play when you want ,record when you want ,send your music to indie radio when you want do shows when you want

 

[Toby]

It simply means being unique in your own way especially when you are working with a low budget in order to produce your own music. You have the choice of working with any studios that you can afford to pay or do everything by yourself.

 

[NSH]

But I feel indie has come to be specifically 'indie rock' and generally 'involving guitars' my proof is that my post was removed from this forum even though my music is 'independent' - it's not 'indie enough' to be correctly filed here. I admire 'indie guitarists' but I don't aspire to be one.

 

[Kennysplash]

There are stories of record labels that actually exploit their artists. So I can understand why people would want to go solo and independent.

 

[karmacoma]

Depends on what you mean by "Indie." As many point our here, it is short for "Independent" so it could fit any artist not signed to a major label.

But there is also "Indie-Rock", which describes the music style more than it describes the artist's current label status. It was born out of Punk/Post-Punk in the 80s and can range from bands like The Pixies and Sonic Youth to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Geese.