In fact indie music is short for 'independent music' and describes a band or artist that prefers to produce their own music rather than be signed to a large record label that is likely to try to dictate their sound.
Therefore, these small labels that produce and publish records for indie artists run lower budget enterprises. As a result they do not have the means to compete against the major pop chart acts, although as we all know, sometimes indie bands break through into the mainstream.
Like so many great musical developments, indie music is thought to originate in the 1960s. The Velvet Underground could maybe be seen as the first real indie band, producing all their own material and creating a unique sound away from the major labels. Their sound is still considered unique and their album Nico is considered a classic.
In the 1970s and 1980s many indie bands were known as 'progressive rock' bands. The 1980s were all about pop music and even the more alternative music was commercial. It was the rock bands that broke away from the group and became the indie bands of the day.
This came before the 'alternative' scene in the 1990s. Grunge was a kind of indie music from the US and the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam were huge chart hits in the UK, bringing indie music and culture almost to the mainstream. Other US indie bands were also popular around the early 90s, like Pavement and Green Day. In the US, the music these bands make is referred to as 'college rock' because it's the music of the college radio stations.
Today indie music may be slightly easier to define as so much has become commercial instead of truly indie. Current indie music tends to sway towards a mixture of rock, folk and acoustic music and there is still a hug following for the genre, especially as a result of the resurgence in the popularity of folk music in recent years.
Finding great new indie music is more difficult now in some ways as there is so much commercial pop music in the charts, in the shops and in the media in general. However, music fans have more control than ever and have the entire indie world at their fingertips through the internet. Websites like Amazon, Sounds2buy and Last.fm allow you to browse a wide range of indie music and many offer reviews and recommendation that enable fans to discover new acts.
If you find an interesting sounding band online, simply download their track, have a listen and you can discover the next great indie band without even leaving your sofa.
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