Indie Music:

Rebecca Horton 23 May 2012

An Entertainment Industry Innovation

Independence means not having to answer to anyone, really-that’s what it means in

my mind.

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-Geoff Travis, founder and director of Rough Trade

As cited in King, R. 2012

Why Study Indie?

•  Modern relevance •  Broad-sweeping impact •  Rootedness in local, start-up

communities

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BUT FIRST...

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What is Innovation?

Simply put, an innovation is a lever of change within a larger system.

Relying upon the foundations of systems theory and actor-network theory this definition supports the notion that ideas never exist in a vacuum, and it is the combination of forces surrounding those ideas that ultimately make them prosper or fail.

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What is Technology?

Technology is not a thing, or an outcome; rather it’s a “process of development.”

6 Based upon the work of Feenberg, A.

A BIT OF CONTEXT...

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Indies Music labels with a small, devoted fan base that are

not heavily focused on sales but rather are focused on

the craft of music.

Music labels that own their own distribution channels.

Majors Vs.

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Power Grip

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Of the Majors

Untethered 10 Indies

“As soon as a major label opens it wallet, all this rebel independent stuff goes out the window.”

-Jim Nash, President, Wax Trax Records, 1990

As cited in Popular Music 11

INCREMENTAL BUT POWERFUL

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Innovators Early Adopters

Early Majority

Late Majority

Laggards

Diffusion Timeline

Rogers, E. The Diffusion of Innovations 13

INNOVATORS

1950s-1960s

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EARLY ADOPTERS

Late 1960s-1970s

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EARLY MAJORITY

1980s

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LATE MAJORITY

1990s

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Redefinition! 21

LAGGARDS

2000s

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23 221,188,824 views

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Underground goes mainstream

1980s Today

“[W]e no longer live in a world of the Mainstream and the Counterculture. We live in a world of multiple mainstreams and countless counter-, sub- and counter-sub-cultures.”

Walker, R. The Brand Underground. 25

ANALYSIS OF INNOVATION

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Innovation Attributes

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Observability

Trialability

Complexity

Relative Advantage

Compatability

Low High

Adapted from Rogers, E. Diffusion of Innovations.

CONCLUSION

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But what does that mean for

the professional musician who needs to make a living?

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Indie is the New Norm

Its tentacles have spread into art, fashion, the DIY/maker

movement, and more

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Indie is No longer Just about Music...

Bibliography

•  Bower, J. & Christensen, C. Disruptive Technologies. Harvard Business Review, 1995.

•  “Billy Corgan Rants About ‘Posers’ at SXSW.” Rolling Stone, 2012.

•  Feenberg, A. Critical Theory of Technology. 1991.

•  King, R. How Soon is Now: The Madmen and Mavericks who made Independent Music 1975-2005. Digital release, Faber and Faber, 2012.

•  Nash, J., 1990. As cited in Popular Music.

•  Oakes, K. Slanted and Enchanted. Holt Paperbacks, 2009.

•  Rogers, E. Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press, 2003, 5th ed.

•  Walker, R. “The Brand Underground.” 30 Jul. 2006, New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/magazine/30brand.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

•  “What Is Indie?” Movie Trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rLLqdnGwqQ

Image Sources

•  sketch_biphop via flickr •  jkgroove via flickr, •  Dana Slaymaker, 1970 via Artstor •  Style.MTV.com •  The macinator via flickr •  Pitchfork Magazine •  Wildner via flickr •  Toniblay via flickr •  ListenMissy via flickr •  Shiftingpixel.com •  Youtube.com screenshot •  Vogue Magazine •  Jima via flickr •  Declann jewel via flickr

I think in the music business you have to give up on making money…marketing is the

new money in music, if you can get the right partners in the internet to work with you and use their marketing power, that is the new money. You’re not gonna make it

selling a CD more than likely.

Corgan, B. Interview with Rolling Stone, 2012. 34

-Billy Corgan