With some commentators predicting the end of the music industry as we know it, the landscape has never been more hostile for independent labels.
Multi-national media conglomerates are attempting to squeeze every ounce of fun and creativity from the music scene, leaving fans searching far and wide for alternatives. Yet such alternatives do exist, and recently have been flourishing. July 4th has been declared independents day, in celebration of that wonderful institution – the independent label.
From almost the beginning of the record industry, independent labels have existed. In these days of cultish obscurity, it is a sobering thought that Sun Records, Stax, Motown and more were all, initially at least, independently owned. However, it wasn’t until the punk revolution that the idea of anyone being capable of owning their own label took hold.
Labels such as Stiff, Rough Trade, Factory, Mute, Creation, Postcard and many more sprang up as a flood of idealists began churning out what is now considered to be classic releases. The dance world was also a fertile breeding ground for these individualists, with labels such as Deconstruction emerging from humble beginnings to storm the charts.
Come the new millenium, a new mood had taken over the buying public. Fed up of being sold the same watered down ‘indie’, new labels such as Wichita and Moshi Moshi sprang up bringing with them some now iconic groups such as Bloc Party and Hot Chip.
The need for independent thought still exists. Just ask these guys!
“Factory, and some of the Factory groups, and the Hacienda as a place, had the freedom and the opportunity to do things differently and propose a different way. Much of which was successful and turned out to be commercially viable, things that the so-called wisdom of business would have negated, or said wasn’t viable, tuned out to be both practical and very viable. So an awful lot of things that we take for granted now in popular culture were pioneered by independent companies and particularly by Factory.”
Factory Designer Peter Saville
“Because we care. And its tough out there running a label and you shouldn’t be bit torrenting as independent labels and also importantly our artists are suffering. Our work here isn’t yet done. So we need to keep going. Sadly we don’t have much in the way of financial buffers so it can get pretty hand to mouth at times but I hope people will support us because they love the music more than anything else!”
Moshi Moshi founders Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass
“I’m not guy hands. I started Sonic Cathedral because I love music and because it was the logical extension of my club-night that was celebrating a certain kind of music – shoegaze. The music industry is very fickle and fashion-led and, back when everyone else seemed to be releasing music with angles, it seemed like a good time to start releasing music with curves. Independent labels are important because they’re not owned by private equity firms, because they don’t exist solely to increase their market share, or keep their shareholders happy. There’s something valiant about them; they take risks and lose money for the sake of their art (that’s what this is all about, really, isn’t it? art?). Consequently their releases (as opposed to their ‘product’) are always imbued with more worth and more meaning. Which is why, to this day, I still treasure records released by Creation (pre-Oasis), Factory and 4AD.”
Sonic Cathedral mainman Nat Cramp
For more details on Independents Day, please click here.
