Indie music stands for independent music — music that is created and released independently of a major label. Since the 2010s, indie music is now starting to be one of the most listened to genres of music. In fact, indie artists are the ones becoming household names now such as Conan Gray, mxmtoon, and Phoebe Bridgers who all started out in the indie scene, embracing this bedroom pop, alternative sound, and charting Billboards. Billie Eilish was a thirteen-year-old nobody who blew up on SoundCloud after recording Ocean Eyes in her brother’s bedroom. With the invention of the internet, it’s been very easy for these unknown artists to rise into the spotlight. However, it’s undeniable that with these artists, there comes a sense of style, a charming swagger that lies in their production or lyrics. One example of the stereotypical indie sound is the “coffee shop soundtrack” filled with acoustic folk guitars and earnest, passionate lyrics about simple things. This sound is tangible, and major labels are clutching onto it. It started with 5 seconds of summer, then one of the 1D boys, and most recently and strikingly with Taylor Swift. For the few cave people left that don’t know Taylor Swift, she is a popstar, most famous for mixes of electronica and electric guitar sounds that also made artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry famous. However, her musical choices were strictly controlled by her label, and she originally started as a country singer, but now? Well, she’s released Lover, Folklore, and Evermore, three very indie records.
So how should we feel? Those of us who have been a part of the indie scene have seen many faces, some even more talented than her, and know most aren’t recognized because they don’t have the prestige associated with her name. Taylor Swift, to me, is a guest in the indie scene. She’ll stay until the hype dies down and move on to another genre. She did that with country, she did that with dance pop, she did that with trap music and now with indie music. I’m not saying that Taylor Swift is the problem or that she is the reason for the sudden shift of the mainstream to the indie sound; I’m saying she is the best example of it. Taylor Swift is “cosplaying” indie music as a lot of critics have pointed out, especially the women of color in the indie scene. The entertainment industry is already a very male dominated place, and women of color traditionally have had to fight extra hard for a scene at the table. So, they enter the indie scene and promptly leave because of oversaturation. They either quit music or release another song that appeals to the mainstream and voila, here come the labels and the TV deals. Women of color constantly have to give up opportunities that they can’t afford to give up because certain people with very big pockets oversaturate the industry.
So yes. Taylor Swift going indie is a very bad thing, and we need to remember this. First, it’s Swift, then Beiber, then Major Lazer, and eventually all the big artists will control indie, and it’ll just be a sound instead of a culture. They did it with hip-hop, and they’re gonna do it with indie music now.
