If you're someone who has any general perception of music, you would have encountered the term 'indie' to describe artists like The Strokes, Radiohead and more recently, Phoebe Bridgers and Rex Orange County. But Indie music. What even is it? Well, it is not actually a genre of music. Music is characterised as indie if it has been made without the backing of a music label, and is classified as music that does not conform to industry standards, and are less commercial. The issue arises when 'indie' is not classified as this definition anymore, but instead, is a 'label' that defines a certain aesthetic of music that sounds lo-fi and authentic. Think about the aesthetic of indie fashion labels, but for music instead. It's like pop music- is pop music the sound, or is it just every song that is popular?
The issue I have from this genre isn't the artists who are making these songs. They are not the ones calling their music indie. Rather, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music are placing these songs into their 'indie' playlists because of a certain aesthetic. I saw Billie Eilish in Spotify's 'Sad Indie' playlist today. She is literally signed to Interscope Records, which is in part owned by Universal Music Group. Other artists on this roster include Camila Cabello, DaBaby and Guns N Roses. All great acts in their own right, but have any of these been called indie? It has become a label now for artists to describe their music to executives and radio stations. Because why was When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? seen as indie?
These days, the term is getting thrown around a bit too much now. If there is one synth line in any song that sounds remotely indie, these huge music platforms like Spotify start putting these songs into their Indie playlists. Before indie was the label, music in this category used to be called alternative. What happened to that?
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