The Effect of Indie Music on the Larger Industry
Let's explore indie music's role in helping to shape the music industry.

For decades, indie music has provided an alternative kind of music to the mainstream. In all this time, the indie music industry has evolved from a small movement of “rebellious” musicians to a global, billion-dollar industry. Unsurprisingly, indie music has also forced the mainstream industry to evolve as well. For example, the rise of the internet and social media freed indie artists from the shackles of traditional distribution methods. At the same time, it forced the big labels to change their operations.

In this article, I’ll tell you about how indie music has affected the general music industry. I’ll look at how things were before the advent of indie music and how things have steadily changed to what we have today.

We’ll discuss the indie music effect in four parts. Has it changed how the music business works? Has anything changed in music culture? Has the music itself evolved? How accessible is it to artists today? Have things gotten better? Has there been any change at all? Let’s find out…

The Business

Music was once exclusively run by record labels. They had access to the equipment, structure, and financial capacity required to make a successful music career. This put many artists at the mercy of record labels. The labels owned the music and had the final say in what kind of music artists would put out. Given that the labels’ first priority was money, the music became more and more commercial.

Record labels also kept most of the profits from the music. So they decided what could be put out, owned the Masters, and kept a larger part of the profits. When indie music started, it was simply an affront to the commercial music of the record labels. Indie artists didn’t care about the fancy recording equipment or extensive distribution network the labels had. They simply cared to make music as they saw fit.

As indie music has grown, especially with the development of streaming platforms and social media, the mainstream industry has been forced to adjust. Labels must now offer an artists more than just fame. Today, we see artists with full freedom to make the music they want while still owning their Masters.

The labels now need the artists as much as the artists need them. So despite not being in the mainstream, the presence of a viable alternative has given label artists more leverage when negotiating contracts.

The Culture

As I have already mentioned, the emergence of indie music wasn’t a matter of money but a matter of principle. Indie artists didn’t like how commercial the music was getting so they did something about it. From the beginning, culture has been at the center of indie music. As the movement grew larger and larger, they eventually began to band together. After some time, indie music festivals such as the Monterey Pop Music Festival begun.

These festivals became one of the strongest pillars of the indie community. This is where artists got to connect and collaborate with each other, and audiences got to meet emerging talents. In today’s music world, the key word is diversity. Different artists with different styles and messages are all embraced and promoted.

As a result, the people involved in music has grown by a country mile. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of Spotify artists grew from 8 to 11 million people. The number of people interested in music is also rising because people are more likely to hear music they relate to. There are over 500 million Spotify users, for example.

The People

Record labels were once the gatekeepers of the music industry. They decided almost exclusively who would make it as an artist. Today, they hold no such power. Anyone can become an artist. Anyone can pick up their phone and start recording covers on YouTube or Instagram. This is my favorite part of what indie music has helped achieve. Young artists now believe that they can be successful with or without the labels, so they make music that is true and authentic to them.

One of such inspirations is Chance the Rapper. He put out his first mixtape by himself and caught the eye of some local artists. A few collaborations later, he was on his way to a fulfilling indie career that has included Grammy wins. Chance the Rapper made his name before the internet was such a big deal. It’s even easier to build an audience online these days.

The new crop of online creators has opened the music industry more than artists in the 70s could ever have imagined. This new influx of people has resulted in the advent of new music styles as well.

The Music

It is inevitable that the music itself has changed over the years. Indie music provided authentic music as an alternative to the commercial mainstream music, but its effect has grown so much that the term “indie” began to connote a genre. This is why we have “indie” artists who are signed to major labels. The demand for authentic music has grown so much that even the labels are starting to move in that direction.

Artists like Lorde, Coldplay, and Billie Eilish are all textbook indie artists but they’re signed to major labels. Some people complain that this means a commercialization of indie music, but an alternative view could be to say that indie music is infiltrating the mainstream industry.

Final Thoughts

Music has changed over the years. If the pioneers of modern music were to see what the industry has become today, they would no doubt be amazed. The people, culture, styles, and business of music have all evolved. One of the biggest contributors to this evolution has been the indie music industry. Once a band of young artists rebelling against the commercialization of their art, the indie movement is now much larger.

What does the future hold for indie music? What does the future hold for the music industry? I can’t answer these questions, but when I look at how far we have come so far, I can’t help the building excitement.