Indie Rock Music: History and Artists of Independent Rock

Indie rock refers to the rock ‘n' roll music that independent record labels release. In practice, a number of indie rockers have also recorded for large, established record companies while maintaining the aesthetics of their independent days.

In terms of commercial viability, indie rock typically slots beneath alternative rock. In music industry parlance, "alternative" often refers to guitar-based rock bands such as Nirvana, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Radiohead. While some of these alt-rock groups have not achieved the cultural ubiquity of highly mainstream acts like U2 and The Rolling Stones, they often record for major labels and enjoy widespread radio airplay.

By contrast, the indie rock scene ranges from large independent labels like 4AD (home to Pixies and The Breeders) to boutique labels like Rockathon (home to Guided By Voices) and self-released recordings. Some indie rock bands have spent ample time on major labels, including Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Arcade Fire.

For many decades, major record labels—such as Columbia, Atlantic, Elektra, A&M, Capitol, EMI, BMG, Arista, and Polydor—almost exclusively disseminated popular music. Yet in the late 1970s, punk bands began releasing their music directly to customers, setting up small record labels to handle logistics.

• Early indie record successes: The earliest independent record success may be the Spiral Scratch EP, released by English pop-punk band Buzzcocks. The band pressed and sold more than 15,000 copies of the record, which inspired a wave of independent labels in the UK, including Rough Trade, 4AD, and Mute.
• US indie rock: The trend also caught on in the United States. In Washington, DC, friends Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson formed Dischord Records to release music by their nascent bands—most notably Minor Threat, in which MacKaye sang and Nelson played drums. In the South Bay suburbs of Los Angeles, Greg Ginn formed SST Records in part as an outlet for his punk band, Black Flag.
• Indie labels foster new scenes: Other prominent US indie rock labels include Chicago's Touch and Go, Seattle's Sub Pop, New York's Matador, North Carolina's Merge, and Boston's TAANG! Many of these labels discovered and fostered bands who would later be stars of alternative rock. Grunge stars Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney were all Sub Pop artists. Brooklyn stars The Yeah Yeah Yeahs debuted on Touch and Go records before breaking through on major label Interscope.

In recent years, label consolidation and a new streaming economy led by Spotify have inspired some bands to leave major labels and start their own boutique imprints. After many years recording for Warner Brothers-owned brands, Wilco formed its own dBpm Records. Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard now runs Rockathon Records following a long career on Matador.

Indie rock encompasses a wide array of subgenres—from synth-driven indie pop to post-punk to hip-hop—but most indie music shares common traits.

1. 1. DIY aesthetic: Most indie rockers do not record using advance payments from a record company. They finance their own studio sessions, or record at home.
2. 2. Occasional lo-fi sonics: Before the advent of powerful digital audio workstations like Pro Tools and Logic, many indie rockers simply lacked access to the production tools enjoyed by major label bands. This created lo-fi aesthetics whether bands wanted them or not. Today's digital technology allows groups to put a polished sheen on their recordings, but some retain the lo-fi veneer for artistic reasons.
3. 3. Songs written by the band: While stars of mainstream pop, country, and hip-hop often rely on large teams of outside songwriters and producers, most indie rockers create all their music in-house. Some indie artists such as Phoebe Bridgers are singer-songwriters, while others are full band affairs like Fugazi and Sleater-Kinney. In both cases, songwriting is the domain of actual band members.
4. 4. Emphasis on authenticity over virtuosity: While indie rock is not known for mind-bending guitar solos or melismatic vocalists with five-octave ranges, it is known for sincere performances performed by band members, not hired studio musicians. This helps most indie rockers easily recreate the sounds of their records when they play live.

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