Irminsul wrote:Originally "indie" meant you were on an independent label (i.e. not one of the big boys like Geffen). But as with any term, 100 people have now given it 100 different meanings.
on the contrary, Sonic Youth is on Geffen and they are most definatly indie. The Butthole Surfers were on Warner Brothers for a time and so were Husker Du. the Boredoms have allways been on various labels owned by Warner and are now on Warner's Japan-based label. the Melvins even had a short deal with Atlantic in the early 90's but were dropped after 2 or 3 albums because Atlantic wasn't making enough money off of them. after all, that's what major labels care about right?
however, all of these bands and quite a few others were at one time or another on indie labels in the begining of their careers.
alot of indie labels today are not indie at all actually, but may have been at one time. the record label Sub Pop (who nearly went bankrupt before they released Nirvana's
Nevermind) began as an indie label out of Seattle, Washington in the 80's and released great albums by many of the first grunge bands such as Green River, Babes in Toyland, and Mudhoney as well as many other bands that were not grunge. Sub Pop is now 49% owned by Warner brothers which, technically, is enough to classify them as a major label, but they are kind of in the grey if you ask me.
any way, there's a little indie label info for you.
if you want to know the real scoop behind indie labels and indie artists and all that then read
Our Band Could Be Your Life by
Micheal Azarrad. it's bassically the history behind indie music and the founding fathers of today's indie music from 1981 - 1991.