Indies Are Generating Some Major Buzz

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see an Alexi Murdoch concert at the El Rey in Los Angeles. I learned about his music by word of mouth - from my brothers - and not from the radio. They had learned of the music from their friends who had heard from their friends... He's a singer-songwriter born and raised in the UK with an American college education. Serious, yet unassuming, singing is a profession he fell into with no intention of becoming famous or rich. And yet, that is exactly where he is headed with the help of the internet and his independent record label.

No thanks to a major label. With TV shows like The OC and films like Garden State featuring his music, his EP, Four Songs, reached #1 on CDBaby.com. While major record companies were pining for his attention and full-lenghth album, he decided instead to make a record and release it on Zero Summer Records... his very own independent record label whose only artist is Alexi Murdoch. It doesn't even have a website.

Presumably he did so for several reasons, although the most well-publicized is that he desired artistic freedom. As I posted previously, this seems to be a trend for independent artists across all genres. They hold out on signing a contract with a major record label because they feel they are benefiting more from exposure on TV shows or social networks than they would through a major record label's big budget advance and marketing campaign. Many want complete creative control when making an album. Some feel they make more money off of record sales without a major label.

There are several crucial differences between a major label and an indie label. To begin (and to state the obvious), an independent record label is one that is in no way affiliated with the major 4 labels (Sony-BMG, EMI, Universal, and Warner). It uses its own independent distributors to sell CDs in stores. It might or might not house its own publishing company - it may have require an artist to use a different independent publisher. Most independent labels don't require the artist to sign the same lengthy 80-100 paged contract that a major label does, which can be appealing to a new band.

In recent years, digital distribution has made it easier than ever for bands signed to indie labels to receive global exposure. While peer-to-peer filesharing has diminished record sales, and therefore crushed major record labels profits, it has created a vast new medium for music. There are more new artists than ever who willingly sacrifice copyright royalties for a shot at national exposure. Performers have never historically made much money from CD sales, so it doesn't seem to be much of a sacrifice at all.

Additionally, indie labels allow their artists more of the creative control they desire. In an interview between an EMI record exec and Andy Allen, of Alternative Distribution Alliance, they discuss Bright Eyes' decision to stay with Saddle Creek. This label allowed Bright Eyes to release more than one record at once - something he could never have done on a major label. Also, they found a distributor in ADA that agreed to distribute his music without barcodes (therefore essentially preventing large-scale distribution), simply because it was his artistic choice.

In conclusion, in today's world of Myspace and Youtube, the indie label may be the new major. As I've stated previously, the major labels will inevitably have to completely revamp their business model in order to compete with the indies.