Where does indie music go from here?

When Justin “Bon Iver” Vernon began writing his second album, he didn’t set out to win a Grammy.  Out there in Wisconsin, he simply wanted to document the feelings in his heart. Maybe a few people would be interested enough to buy his music and then come out to a gig or two.

Imagine, then, what must have been going through his mind last Sunday night. Vernon is about as indie as they come in sound, style, aesthetic, attitude, history and image.  His two wins at the Grammys demonstrate how, after years of being on the outside, indie music is now receiving mainstream attention.

And let’s not forget that Adele is an indie artist.  Yes, 21 is distributed by Columbia Records, a division of Sony, but she’s signed to XL Recordings, which is a department of Beggars Banquet, a British indie label with roots that go back to 1973.

For those who thought last year’s Grammys was a fluke — wins by Arcade Fire and the ascent of Mumford & Sons to platinum-selling status — are either really pleased or really scared by these developments.  Pleased because these great artists are having a chance to be heard by more people. Scared because mainstream attention threatens to have the clubby indie scene invaded by mainstream people.

Indie folk — and here I’m speaking as one of them — feel, rightly or wrongly, a certain sense of ownership when it comes to the artists we discover and nurture. We root for them to become big — but not too big because that would somehow sour our relationship with them.  We’d prefer if they’d just stay our little secret. 

If, heaven forbid, they became commercial stars and relegated to premiere league status, wouldn’t that make them no better than the dreckish Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga?  No, the band hasn’t changed; it just that, well, circumstances are different. Share?  Us? No!

It’s silly, of course, but that’s often the prevailing attitude.

One of the best lyric fragments comes from the Sloan song Coax Me. It goes “It’s not the band I hate/it’s their fans.” So far, artists like Arcade Fire and Bon Iver have managed to retain their indie cred despite being commercially successful. Will their old fans stick with them? Or will they bail in favour of something newer, cooler and less popular? We’ll see.

– Alan is the host of the radio show The Secret History of Rock.  Reach him at alan@alancross.ca