Why do you like indie music

I admired the fact that so many in the indie music industry were trying to hold themselves to a higher social and cultural standard than most of their major label colleagues. After high school, I ran my own independent publication and interviewed scores of contemporary musicians, hoping to provide a platform to share honest experiences and capture a diverse creative ecosystem. As I got older, my excitement for indie music and the promise it offered began to wane as it became more apparent that so much of the community discreetly functions to serve white people almost exclusively.

Throughout my experience as a label manager at indie imprints Bayonet and Danger Collective, while also contributing writing, photo, and video work for releases on Carpark, Sub Pop, and Hardly Art, I have been one of few, if not the only, Black personnel involved on every project. Gleaning some of their wisdom and having the chance to commiserate has kept me optimistic and motivated. One of the first Black indie musicians I befriended was Shamir , who has helped expand the idea of how a Black artist can operate and develop in indie music across much of the last decade.

While in high school in suburban North Las Vegas, Shamir formed the lo-fi, acoustic duo Anorexia with his friend Christina Thompson, receiving encouragement and praise from the women-led and non-binary-friendly pockets of the indie world. Both releases showcased a more vulnerable side of Shamir, but they polarized many fans of the more polished Ratchet.

While plenty of white indie acts are heralded for changing their sound and becoming more self-reliant, when Shamir abandoned the lush production that listeners were comfortable expecting from a queer pop star, many critics and fans reacted as though he was making a mistake. In , he announced his own label, Accidental Popstar , where he now seeks to nurture underexposed artists while giving them the tools to avoid the obstacles he has faced.

This week, the year-old self-managed artist is self-releasing his upbeat and affirming new album, Shamir , on his own terms. His seventh full-length in just five years, Shamir is the first to fully integrate his pop and indie rock sensibilities, while preserving his uncompromising approach. View Iframe URL. Internships are still the gateway for so many people who work in all facets of the music industry, but since most of them only offer school credit, companies often end up hiring those who have the privilege to dedicate time and labor for free.

So he asked to intern for the label as preparation for the promotion of his album. Venues and collectives built on self-sustaining values and practices have been a staple of indie culture throughout its existence, but in practice, the DIY ethos can quickly reveal the disproportionate privilege and access to resources of a given community.

Riliwan Salam, 35, who currently manages independent rappers Fat Tony and Dai Burger , and has worked in both the independent and major label music industries, says Black artists often gravitate towards major label deals out of necessity. Andere got his start in indie music in as the writer behind a relatively anonymous Tumblr blog called Flashlight Tag. Create something special from the underrated music scene you see! By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

Refer to the privacy policy here. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. A Way of Independent Living Part of the deeper message of indie music we mentioned earlier is also the independence of the music they create.

Competitive Music Industry Yes, indie music has its uniqueness. More articles by Chris ». Related: Features. Leave a Response Cancel reply Comment. Name required. Email required.

Send us your music on SubmitHub. Follow Obscure Sound on Spotify here. Obscure Sound is an indie music blog formed in If we dive into the variety of fusion genres, such as pop-punk, jazz-rock jazz fusion or folk-pop, we realize they refer to both genres equally. A folk-pop album is both folk and pop, as both terms are practically nouns here, but when we analyze indie rock or indie pop, we realize indie is still an adjective, unable to escape its initial identity.

And, if we can use the term for an album, or perhaps even a song, it means we are using it as a descriptor, a genre. While our syntax roadblock definitely slowed us down, by using this definition we are back on track: indie is not a traditional genre, but the way the word is used obliges us to think of it as one.

One of my favorite groups, Men I Trust , is, in my opinion, quintessentially indie, which makes them my starting point for an attempted definition. Another group that communicates the essence of indie to a T is Flipturn. First-year Christina Berninger believes indie music is more abstract than mainstream music. Her uncle is the frontman for The National , a fact that baffled me when I saw their three million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Well then, what is indie? Freedom of speech! Just sleep with one eye open tonight. He also has no idea what he wants to minor in, but Cinema and Media Arts is a possibility. He's a big movie nerd and better than average at every sport in which a ball is used. You can reach him at [email protected]. She currently serves as Deputy Social Media Director. When not designing graphics for The Hustler, she is watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, figure skating or drinking coffee.

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