Jakebert
02-04-2007, 10:48 AM
In the past, the distinction between indie label and major label was a huge difference. One stood for money and greed, and the other stood of originality and artistic expression in its purest form. I know people that were my age during the times when this was the difference was huge, and they said that buying an indie album was a different experience than buying a major, for many reasons.
But, now that indie rock is more popular than ever, and punk rock still dominates a huge part of the musical landscapes, do you really think the difference between label types matter?
It used to be that finding independent albums in a place like rural Ohio was near impossible. Now, all I have to do is go to the closest mall, go to FYE and find entire collections of bands like Pedro the Lion, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Rites of Spring. Hell, even my local Wal-Mart sells some indie label albums, even from some not-so-successful bands.
With all of that, indie labels are getting bigger. Dischord, Epitaph, and especially Vagrant have become what essential are smaller major labels, and even smaller ones like Jade Tree and Sub Pop are pretty damn big money makers right now. They have large numbers of employees, and are dealing with pretty large amounts of money. While obviously they’re still labors of love at heart, there’s still a huge part of it that’s looking strictly at dollar signs and trying to keep that money coming in.
Also, they’ve broadened out and expanded from being specialty labels for a certain crowd or genre. Dischord isn’t the “DC hardcore” label anymore. It caters to indie pop, emo, pop punk, and alternative fans as well. Epitaph has rap and trip-hop artists. Sub-Pop releases stand up comedy albums. This is a great thing, but one of the original appeals with indie labels was that you knew what you were getting from a new band on that label.
I’m not criticizing it in any way. Music is a business, and profiting from running a good business isn’t a bad thing. But, what I’m getting at is: is the appeal of the indie label dead?
I think it is in some respect, but I still think that indie labels for the most part still have one thing going for it: more consistent quality. Looking at Jade Tree’s roaster of bands, I see more bands that I would listen to than looking at any major. Even looking at one of the more diverse labels like Epitaph, I feel the same way. Or, looking at Vagrant, I immediately know not to listen to anything that they put out if I haven’t heard a substantial amount from that band first.
So, I guess aside from the questions I already asked, the big question I have is: do labels matter to you at all?
But, now that indie rock is more popular than ever, and punk rock still dominates a huge part of the musical landscapes, do you really think the difference between label types matter?
It used to be that finding independent albums in a place like rural Ohio was near impossible. Now, all I have to do is go to the closest mall, go to FYE and find entire collections of bands like Pedro the Lion, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Rites of Spring. Hell, even my local Wal-Mart sells some indie label albums, even from some not-so-successful bands.
With all of that, indie labels are getting bigger. Dischord, Epitaph, and especially Vagrant have become what essential are smaller major labels, and even smaller ones like Jade Tree and Sub Pop are pretty damn big money makers right now. They have large numbers of employees, and are dealing with pretty large amounts of money. While obviously they’re still labors of love at heart, there’s still a huge part of it that’s looking strictly at dollar signs and trying to keep that money coming in.
Also, they’ve broadened out and expanded from being specialty labels for a certain crowd or genre. Dischord isn’t the “DC hardcore” label anymore. It caters to indie pop, emo, pop punk, and alternative fans as well. Epitaph has rap and trip-hop artists. Sub-Pop releases stand up comedy albums. This is a great thing, but one of the original appeals with indie labels was that you knew what you were getting from a new band on that label.
I’m not criticizing it in any way. Music is a business, and profiting from running a good business isn’t a bad thing. But, what I’m getting at is: is the appeal of the indie label dead?
I think it is in some respect, but I still think that indie labels for the most part still have one thing going for it: more consistent quality. Looking at Jade Tree’s roaster of bands, I see more bands that I would listen to than looking at any major. Even looking at one of the more diverse labels like Epitaph, I feel the same way. Or, looking at Vagrant, I immediately know not to listen to anything that they put out if I haven’t heard a substantial amount from that band first.
So, I guess aside from the questions I already asked, the big question I have is: do labels matter to you at all?