What is an Indie Musician? 4 Details to Clear Your Confusion
If there is one thing which has seen a dramatic growth and rise in the last few years, it is undoubtedly the music industry. The heroic entry of Indie Musicians within last few years has completely transformed this industry. Whether you are from the music industry or you are not, I bet you would’ve definitely heard the term, Indie. Haven’t you?
However, do you know what indie music is precisely? Honestly, the rapid growth of these artists has left most of us dazed and confused as to who are they and what are they doing exactly. If you go about asking people, I’m sure you’ll get all sorts of vague answers like they are musicians who do it all by themselves or they are artists who make their own music, etc. Nonetheless, most of us are still reeling with giddiness with so many ‘indie’ terms around us? Allow me to help you iron out your doubts and clear your confusion. Except before we start, I urge you to throw away your previous misconceptions and doubts about Indie music and Indie Musicians.
#1. They are part of No Record Label
This is the most basic and most essential thing about an Indie Musician. An Indie artist is not even remotely associated with a record label. Be it promotion, distribution, touring, gigs they do it all by themselves. Hence they are called ‘Indie musicians’ which mean ‘Independent musicians’. They are the complete owner of their music and hence they get the liberty to promote, distribute, tour and perform at concerts as per their choice.
#2. “Indie Artists”/ “Indie Bands”/ “Indie Musicians” is there any difference?
Honestly, this question has been asked by tons people. I guess so many ‘Indie’ terms give way to unnecessary confusion. Basically there is no difference between an Indie artist or an Indie band or an Indie musician. If you are alone and you do not have a band like Udyan Sagar AKA Nucleya then you’ll be called an Indie Artist, on the other hand if you own a band like The Raghu Dixit Project or Maati Baani then you’ll be called an Indie Band. However, some artist prefers themselves to be called a band. Furthermore, both an Indie artist and an Indie band come under the broad umbrella of ‘Indie Musicians’.
#3. What’s an Indie Label?
An Indie Label is an Independent Record Label which primarily helps an artist in the production, promotion and distribution of their music. Be it an Independent artist or any artist they help them all. Moreover, the contract signed by them is extremely liberal. It doesn’t force an artist for his or her licenses and rights and doesn’t even tie them to contracts of long periods.
#4. Do you need a label to be an Indie Musician?
Coming straight to the point, you do not need a label to be an indie Musician. However, when you want your music to reach a vast gamut of the audience in a short span of time then you might consider it a wise step to go for an independent recording label. The label would engage in aggressive promotion and distribution of your music on its website, social media pages, popular radio stations and TV channels. It would also arrange live gigs for you to multiply your fan base.
Here are those four major pointers which I think would help you pin down your confusion. I hope I have been able to iron out your doubts regarding Indie music and musician and everything Indie. So now that you are clear about Indie music, next time you are googling for English video songs, don’t forget to check out the mind-blowing Indie artists who are setting the stage for a classic revolution in the industry.