push your voice
19 02 2008From February 5th to February 22nd, 2008, you can let the music industry know how you really feel. Now is your chance to be a part of ‘the process’ - The Independent Music Awards depends on you!
Cast your vote for your favourite indy artist, click here:
http://indiscover.net/indies
The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards will take place on Saturday, March 8, 2008, at 8p.m. in the Canadian Ballroom at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, in Toronto. For tickets visit: www.cmw.net.
Who’s your favourite indy artist?
why do we have to call em indie artists?
just a question…
ill snare more later…
I think they’re called indie artists because they make mainstream music without mainstream financial backing. It really says something about the passion of the artist and their determination to create - they’re willing to go it alone if they have to.
The greatest Hip Hop example of the above is Classified. To see where he started and where he is now - amazing! That happened because he was willing to kick down doors independently!
Can you tell how passionate I am about this?!
blues under dog.
pocket dwellers
(used to be mos def… but he’s not indie anymore)
Mr.V, Miss Patty and the whole SOLE Channel crew..by far one of the best independent house music labels out there.
“It might blow up, but it won’t go pop” - De La Soul
In the 80s and early 90s, the term “indie artist” used to refer to those who released albums on their own labels, backed by their own money. It also referred to those who signed with independent record labels, as opposed to signing with one of the major labels that dominated the music landscape.
This came at a time when commercial radio in North America rarely, if ever, played “alternative” artists that were not on the majors. (By contrast, the term “alternative” never existed in the UK, at least to the extent it did on this side of the Atlantic, as BBC Radio would commonly play artists on indie labels alongside major label acts.) Few hip hop acts gained recognition nationwide in the US, mostly because there were even fewer labels who would sign them, thereby limiting the recorded material distribution of unsigned acts to basically the major urban centres in which they lived.
In the 90s, some independent labels started getting bigger and more significant, with corporate-minded infrastructures and goals in place. Major labels, wanting in on the action, began signing “indie artists”, blurring the lines of what was truly independent — with respect to the indie artist, does signing to a major label constitute “selling out”? One could argue that regardless of the label with which they signed, certain acts could still be considered independent based on their attitudes and musical originality. Likewise, a very mainstream-friendly act with a very glossy, “middle-of-the-road” sound, signed to an indie label may not necessarily be thought of as an “indie artist”.
Meanwhile, some now-famous/infamous record label moguls saw the immense potential in getting hip hop artists signed, and were immensely rewarded for it, controversies notwithstanding. However, it’s unlikely any of these acts, such as the Notorious B.I.G. (on Bad Boy Records) or 2Pac (Death Row Records), on their respective hip hop labels could be considered “indie”, despite the independent origins of the labels themselves.
These days, there are a number of acclaimed indie labels that support a roster of great “indie rock” acts, but unfortunately quality indie hip hop labels are still more sparse, relative to the number of indie rock labels that currently exist. Those indie hop hop artists who have broken through with any type of following outside their hometown should be applauded since, more often than not, they really have to make it on their own.