Though indie rock isn't technically a genre, it is considered to represent the underground culture in many aspects. Indie artists are known for demanding a large amount of creative control over their music, and this is something which often alienates them from larger companies. Indie artists will strictly rely on word of mouth, tours, and independent radio stations in order to promote their music. Many of the popular artist will end up becoming popular with mainstream audiences, and may be signed by large record labels.
In the US indie music is considered to be a spin off from alternative rock. The movement is believed to have been started during the 1970s or 1980s. The indie rock music of the 1980s had a sounds which were described as being heavy and distorted. By the 1990s, indie music groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam became mainstream, and the genre became more widespread. Once the genre became popular, major record companies begin investing large amounts of money in it.
Once this happened, the term "alternative rock" became more of a misnomer. Traditionally, many musicians who have signed with major record companies were considered to be "sell outs" by their hardcore fans. My Original Music is a indie music site located at myoriginalmusic.com. Here you can find music by independent artists from all over the world. Today, indie rock is a term which has come to describe a wide variety of music. The term indie rock has been applied to psychedelic folk, synth-pop, and post-punk.
Sometimes the term indie rock becomes blurred, and some believe that the word will soon disappear much like alternative rock did. Mainstream artists such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys have been known to reach high levels on the indie music charts, especially in the United Kingdom. Some mainstream artists have even been signed to independent record labels. Many popular indie music artist become mainstream, and once this happens, they are no longer independent.
Despite the fact that many indie artists become mainstream, this is not always the case. In fact, most independent artists are not mainstream, and do not wish to be. Money may be a motivating factor, but many artists play their music for the passion and not the money. Many major record labels exert a large amount of control over their artists, and the music which is sold is more often the product of the record companies than the artists themselves. Because of this, many artists have fought with the major record labels over creative control of their music.
