Is Billie Eilish Indie?
Billie Eilish had a meteoric rise but is she truly an indie artist? Let's find out.

It takes a special kind of artist to win both a Grammy and an Oscar. In fact, only an exclusive group of extraordinary artists can boast of such a feat. Among them, you'll find legends like Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, and John Legend, pun intended. Another member of this elite group of musicians is the young but globally admired Billie Eilish.

Billie Eilish joined this elite group in 2022 with her song, No Time to Die, written for the James Bond movie of the same name. In all this success, Billie Eilish has been hailed as an indie/alternative artist. It makes a great story, it really does. The young, homeschooled girl who conquered the world on her terms. But is it true? Is Billie Eilish an indie artist?

Walk with me.

The only constant thing is...

Over time, the concept of independence in music has changed steadily but surely. In the 1970s, decades before Billie was born, independent music referred to music produced and distributed by artists without the backing of a record label. The main attraction of this path was that the artist would own the masters of their music and keep all financial benefits as well. It was an act of defiance against the record labels who were seen to be exploiting and manipulative.

For the record labels, the main attraction was the solid backing they offered, from production to distribution. They offered global stardom and stacks of dollar bills, and all they wanted in exchange was the ownership of the masters of the music.

In today's world, however, things have changed. While that may be the most cliche thing you've ever heard, it's also incredibly spot-on. Today, traditional record labels aren't the only ones with deep pockets. Independent artists aren't the only ones who own the masters of their music. What used to be black and white is now a cloud of gray.

To be independent

Independent artists are now believed to be those who own all the masters of their music and are in charge of all creative decisions. The only problem is that this category of artists includes record label artists. The likes of Prince pioneered the movement, and the likes of Taylor Swift have continued to champion the cause even today. To be indie, or independent, one must own the master to their music. This is the first definition.

Let's stroll back to music in the 1970s. Independent artists of the time were true mavericks of the industry.  They refused state-of-the-art equipment and financial backing and opted for going the long route all by themselves. Such was the distinction in our music that these independent artists came to be recognized by a specific type of sound. With time, this sound became a genre on its own. Today, we call it indie or alternative music. This is the second definition.

Billie Eilish has been hailed as an indie artist, so where exactly does she fall? Which of the two definitions best describes her situation? To effectively answer this question, let's take a look at some history.

Her story

Billie Eilish started her music career in 2015 at the tender age of thirteen years old. With her brother's help, she released two songs with little or no recognition. In November of the same year, however, all that changed. She released her third single, Ocean Eyes. Within two weeks, the song received hundreds of thousands of plays. Her brother's agent immediately recognized the opportunity before them and moved to help them take advantage of it. By March of the following year, she had gotten an A & R deal, worked with Chanel, and released a music video for Ocean Eyes. A star had been born.

Right off the bat, however, you'll notice Billie Eilish was immediately signed by an A & R company which served as a stepping stone for artists trying to get a record deal. In true indie fashion, she recorded the video for her second song, Under 6 Feet, in her house. It was directed by her and edited by her mother. That, however, was the end of the road to her independence. In August 2016, Billie Eilish was signed to Interscope Records, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

Billie's record label affiliations have worked out well for her, so far. Three years after signing with Interscope, Billie Eilish went to the Grammys and shut the place down, winning five times in one night. That said, she doesn't own her masters and there doesn't seem to be any special arrangement that guarantees her creative independence. By our first definition, Billie Eilish does not qualify to be called an indie artist.

That said, Billie's music style is the unique part of her that many of her fans have fallen in love with. It's brutally honest, poetically dark, and emotionally stirring. This might scream out indie or alternative to you, but hold your horses. There's an alternative or indie side of things for every genre, and Billie Eilish has worked more on pop music than any other kind. For Billie to qualify as indie, her sound must be different from the mainstream. So compare her with the top pop artists in the world, and it doesn't get more pop than Taylor Swift. Is Billie's music so different from Taylor Swift's?

No. Not for me, at least.

Of course, she has her specific style, but I don't believe it differs from the mainstream so much that she can be considered alternative. Her songs are emotional, but so are Taylor Swift's. Her songs are honest and poetic, but so are Taylor Swift's. The only point where I find them different is that Billie Eilish takes a darker approach, especially in her music videos. Is that enough to consider her alternative? I don't believe so.

Decades ago, she would've been an indie alternative artist, that's for sure. Pop music, however, is no longer the mean and airy music it once used to be. Everything is much more emotionally raw and brutally honest. What the generations before us called indie has now become mainstream.

The verdict

By now, you've either come to the same conclusion as I have or you think I'm raving mad. The first condition for being an indie artist is that the artist owns their music. The second condition is that the artist makes music that is a direct contrast to the mainstream sound. I don't believe Billie Eilish meets any of these conditions.

So no, Billie Eilish is not an indie artist.