Indie music can be also be a way of life because the artists aren’t creating or making profits for “the man.” As previously mentioned, integrity is a huge factor in what some people define as indie. Most people will say indie is anything that is not mainstream. These artists do not care if everyone hates their music. Indie music is the music for the rebels, the radicals, and the revolutionary.

So Indie Is…?

Each category intertwines with each other through many aspects but is also its own world in what justifies what indie music is. Perhaps the older generation may argue that indie is a way of life whereas the younger may argue that it is a sound that has evolved into a genre. Don’t agree or still undecided? Well, it’s hard to take sides. Similar to the chicken-egg situation, it’s a cycle that constantly involves evolution. None of those three categories can clearly define indie music today.

The sound of indie music is not just Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene. There is also indie hip-hop, indie pop, indie rock, indie folk, indie electronica and much more. So forget about the indie stereotype without rappers or pop stars. The sound of indie is not consistent because any genre can start out as indie. Therefore, indie cannot be a clear nor objective genre because there are too many sub-genres within it.

Also, just because an artist or band is undiscovered and unsigned, that factor does not necessarily make them indie. There are plenty of artists making mainstream music with the help of an independent label. Mainstream labels also support indie artists such as Feist, The Fratellis, and The Pipettes. A label cannot define indie because there are many independent labels that work with the help of major labels today, such as Cherrytree Records and Interscope Records.

Moreover, only some indie artists are loyal to the DIY ethic of music. Some artists who are labeled as indie are only so because they have not yet landed a major record deal. Much of indie music includes artists who have hopes in becoming mainstream. They might be considered sell-outs once they do gain commercial success, but if they are doing what they choose to do; aren’t they still indie?