Here’s Something to Debate Today: What Does “Indie” Mean?

This is a bigger debate that you might think.  I tend to stop at defining “indie” as describing an artist that releases material through a label that’s not affiliated with any of the major labels.  

But some people believe that being “indie” is just as complicated and wide-raging as being “punk.”  Check out this dissertation on the latter from a site called Music Under Fire.

The definition of the term itself, ‘indie’, carries many meanings depending how you look at it. Is there a clear answer? As the co-founder of an indie music website, I often get asked “What is indie music?” The definitive path of it is as clear as mud, but I will say this: indie music is a label (and so much more). Let’s look into this further.

Unlike other genres, indie music doesn’t describe itself by calling itself indie. Indie music is an all-in-one lifestyle, a rejection of conformity, a voice unto itself, originality without calling itself original, the always-changing minority, experimentation at any scale and most importantly, independence.

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