Independent music is music produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries; this may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording and publishing.
Indie pop band The Smiths in 1985.
An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).
MF DOOM, one of the pioneering artists of the underground hip hop scene, whose success helped bring attention to independent hip hop releases and influenced many musicians.