Indie Music: an Endless Paradox

Attracting fans with unique, undiscovered sounds, successful indie artists eventually become popular, thus losing their “indie” title. Now, they can either adjust to this newfound fame or limit themselves by trying to stay indie.

Written by Caroline Harrison

Illustrated by Macie Hartzog

As social media and streaming platforms become increasingly accessible, it’s easier than ever for small artists to release music and gain a following. With a heavily saturated music industry, there will always be new musicians to discover before they make it big. For the listener, these talented indie artists have a certain appeal that popular musicians can’t compete with. There’s just something satisfying about discovering an artist before anyone else in your circle.

Ironically, this taste for individuality will eventually create a paradox for the indie artist and their fans.

Encompassing a variety of genres and often used interchangeably with “underground,” indie music’s only real parameter for its newly adopted connotation is its popularity. When a talented artist has yet to be discovered by mainstream media, fans of their style will inevitably be attracted to this underrated sound, not only because of the music’s quality but also because they feel special for finding the musician first. As this process repeats itself, a once-indie artist now finds themselves in mainstream music.

While this is a success for the musician, it also causes them to “outgrow” their identity as an indie artist. They can’t be popular and indie.

Once this happens, there are two ways the artist can handle it: they either take this new popularity in stride and adjust to their newfound fame or they can attempt to retain their indie (i.e. underground) appeal by limiting their creative capacity and new resources.

Considerably the most popular genres within indie music, rock and pop both have many examples of formerly indie musicians dealing with this paradox.

Phoebe Bridgers is one example of indie artists who use their new stardom and resources to improve their music and solidify their fanbase. Her debut album, Stranger in the Alps, was released in 2017 through Dead Oceans, an independent record label. With that indie appeal, her honest and unique sound in songs like “Motion Sickness” attracted listeners instantly. After its success, she was signed by Sound City Studios, a label that’s worked with big names like Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, and Arctic Monkeys. In 2020, Bridgers released her second studio album, Punisher. With Sound City’s resources in technology and press, she has established her name in the alt-rock scene.

As she continues to grow in popularity thanks to a record deal with such a large label, Phoebe Bridgers has officially signaled the death of her indie status. Success shouldn’t have a negative connotation though — while her music should no longer be called “indie,” she’s maintained a fine balance between alternative and popular music through a consistently authentic sound.

 Often writing emotional or witty lyrics, Bridgers uses her soft, melancholy voice to build a cohesive narrative between songs with drastically different tones. Utilizing the resources of her new label, Punisher embodies how a once-indie artist can evolve while staying true to their original style. The instrumentation, background vocals, and nearly-cinematic build on songs like “I Know The End” especially emphasize Bridgers’ refined production quality on this album. While her music continues to develop, Phoebe Bridgers’ common lyrical themes and unique vocal style maintains a sense of continuity and identity between albums even as she leaves behind her indie title.

When faced with the contradicting role of popular indie artists, she didn’t change her music to be more digestible to mainstream media. Instead, Phoebe Bridgers continues to build her career on her alternative and honest music.

Unlike Phoebe Bridgers, however, there are some indie artists who want to stay in their niche.

Though the term “indie” wasn’t used often during most of their career, the Grateful Dead’s unique psychedelic sound and disdain for mainstream culture make them a key predecessor to the indie music phenomenon, as the group famously resisted its popularity.

The Grateful Dead was notorious for its bad business and marketing strategies. Though the band signed with Warner Brothers in 1967, its members hated pictures, studio recording, and anything else that was purposefully promotional or conventional. Focusing on freeform renditions of their songs, they preferred to perform live in intimate settings, not giant, impersonal stadiums. Later in the band’s career, the Dead were forced to play in increasingly large venues due to severe overcrowding, but they always longed for intimate settings like their earlier performances.

Even though the band was extremely appreciative of its fanbase, the musicians’ opposition to fame heightened the pressures and restrictions that come with being a mainstream band. While they didn’t let this restrict their creativity directly, the strain of fame on their mental health and relationships consequently affected their music. In the band’s later years, Jerry Garcia was particularly impacted by their popularity as fans deified the lead singer and guitarist. His longtime battle with drug addiction, worsened by the cult-like attention from Deadheads, caused Garcia to distance himself from the public and the band. 

Pushing against fame and hanging onto an “indie” identity can be damaging in different ways, whether it be mentally or musically, but it’s ultimately up to the artist to decide how they handle their relationship to popularity.

While indie music is a great niche for artists to grow and attract new fans, outgrowing this label is always an accomplishment; it signifies sharing great music with more people. Just because an artist becomes popular does not mean they will change their sound. The artist that fans are worried about changing may very well stay the same after they grow because they still identify as the same musician or band as before. Artists shouldn’t feel like they have to fight to keep their indie title just to keep making the music they like or to keep their original fans happy.

As people recognize this paradox and accept that artists can outgrow labels, music can continue to make more space for new artists and innovations.