Matador Records
There isn’t a more complicated industry in the world than indie rock, a fact that is demonstrated by the way indie rock fans bristle when the movement is called an industry. The paradox represented within the world of indie music is beautifully apparent in the success of major player Matador Records. There is little doubt from any quarter that Matador at least began as an indie label. By the standards that define indie music, Matador continues to represent the movement in its practices: artists such as Liz Phair and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion still retain control of their music, the label has little power within the commercial world, and is still relatively small. Unfortunately, when it comes to indie, relative is a death knell among some fans. The fact that Matador has 40 artists and a staff, as well as the fact that the more popular artists mentioned above have distribution deals with big labels, is enough for some indie fans to have declared the label passé, entirely dismissing its continued adherence to the unwritten rules of indie. The regards in which the label is now held pose the ultimate question for indie music, one that is as old as the movement itself: is a certain type of music or artist to be dismissed simply because it or they become "too" big? What is the point of making music just to be heard? Shouldn’t all music have some appeal? And why is it that if an artist or a label produce music that many find relevant they are dismissed by so many more within their original fan base? As noted in some other blogs, this essential conundrum is a facet which indie music fans must come to terms with if the indie scene is to survive.
As times change so do the people who move with them. This generation is hungry for more freedom and that is why they wrestle with a lot of terms used and things being done in the industry. We need to address those concerns and keep the generation growing and reaching their potential in the indy music scene.
yes i agree attagirl. time changes everything. and it is important to let those concerns be addressed. the fans have also a big role in this indie music and that is to make it survive. now a days, many kinds of music are growing and it is not that easy to keep those alive.
just an addition to this. i really think that many labels won’t become big if they did not make it into indie labels. i mean, everyone and everything are starting from the bottom before going up. and commercialization has a big role in promoting a label and making it big.
This is a debate I’ve had time and time again with friends and acquaintances. There is an attitude among certain members who want to be “scene” that you can only like something if it is unique to you or a very small facet of society. This is a lame way of operating, especially in light of the fact that many of these people seem to wear a uniform and behave in a way that identifies them with the other people with the same identity. I thought conformity was soooo yesterday…
I play music because I love music. If people listen to what my band is playing and they enjoy it, that’s great. If a scenester likes it? Wonderful. If a frat house plays it during some party while they smash beer cans on each other’s faces? Wonderful. I couldn’t give a fuck less WHO hears and enjoys my music – I just want to share it with people. If one day, my band crawls from the shadows of independent obscurity and ends up with a million-plus fans, that would be something amazing and exhilarating. If this weekend’s release of our debut cd only yields a few sales, and after a few years of light, regional, self-funded touring we break up, I’m happy to have played with the rest of the band.
It’s time that the Us vs. Them mentality and air of superiority and arrogance leaves the music scene. Scenesters, metalheads, punkers, cowpokes, and other genre lovers are all the same. We’re people who like a certain flavor of music. It’s reflected in our attitude, our wardrobe, and the friends with which we associate.
Mellow the fuck out and enjoy the tunes. You’ll be dead some day.