You do not have to adopt this definition. I re- defined it, just for me. To stand up for my values and adhering to those. What I do, is not being offered here as advice nor am I saying this is in any way ‘superior’.
I’ve observed Independent musicians, attended seminars and entire fests designed around Indie music scene in India primarily in Mumbai. Listened to talks online, global advice and tips and resources to help Indie musicians ‘make it’. It made me realise just how ‘odd’ my position is. Even opposite.
In my Instagram profile, I have written at the bottom of my bio: “Not looking to sign with labels.”
This would raise a lot of eyebrows.
I’m already what is considered in India “Miss Niche Niche Niche” or Niche cube.
I make English-language music while living in a country whose mainstream music industry is overwhelmingly centred on Hindi and regional languages. The same is largely true of television singing competitions, where contestants mostly perform covers. Hindi and regional languages only. And even here there is plenty of politics and scandalous drama.
Labels have approached me in the past after hearing my English covers. They all wanted to sign me under the condition: sing in Hindi only, you’ll get way more views and visibility.
The only subject matter of my music is Vedanta, Buddhism, journey of seeker of truth and devotion to truth. The things I deeply care about. No romance, no friendship, no grief and loss, no motivation, no guilt/shame, no social issues, money, drugs nothing. In other words, nothing relatable. A 360 degree classic label deal means I’ll not have that same level of control over my music, my image, my aesthetics, and what I say in public or in interviews or my Instagram account or my music videos. Besides, I need complete ownership of master recordings to all my songs. I cannot donate my precious songs to any label, for no amount of fame and money can compensate for it. Ever.
Then there is the limited limited limited opportunity for a singer like me to sing live here. Why?
The primary criteria in Indian market to be eligible to sing live at a restaurant/club/bar is: Instagram followers. That is the first t the final filter. Not even Spotify listeners.
Long before I even released music, in the live circuit I observed, follower count wasn’t one factor among many. It was the gatekeeper.
I’ve watched my musician acquaintances simply thinking about reel captions and a comedy skit reel idea to go viral before the song is even written. Talk about Priorities.
Vocal talent, good music, coherence in artistry, branding, looks these are all irrelevant. The first and final filter is: How many followers? If you use autotune and sing off pitch it does not matter here as long as you have followers, they have food and alcohol to sell, those are their priorities.
“Wait till you have at least 5k followers” Is the advice I got.
My Instagram does not revolve around follower accumulation. Quite the opposite. I shoot 4 music videos in a year and cut out a short reel each from it. So, I post 4 reels a year on Instagram. I don’t do pre-release campaigns or teasers; I prefer to keep my work private until release day. I release the song, share the reel, and move on with life. I post only things that align with my music, around four or five times a month. I would rather spend my time honing my voice, writing and composing songs, reading, writing essays and research for future publication, and meditating.
Yes I run marketing campaigns on Instagram and YouTube, targeting locations where most of my listeners are. Note: I target listeners and not accounts that are likely to follow me or leave comments and likes. That would be a completely different marketing campaign. Followers are not the same as listeners. Most followers watch your reels on mute, they follow you if they somehow liked that particular reel. That’s it. why don’t I post covers? My original songs are thematically not aligned with any pop song I would do a cover for. I’m not building an audience for English covers, but for my original songs only which have no relevance to covers.
Anyways back to live gig opportunities. I am contacted once in a while when people are looking for English pop singers who do English covers for occasions like Christmas, new year etc. Not for my original music, but for covers. I’m not looking to earn gig money and I do not care to sing covers for the reasons I already stated. So I don’t do those.
Do I even care for visibility? actually no.
I want my songs to reach the right audience hence the meta ads. Suits me well.
Do I care for validation and back pats? No, but I do pitch my songs to the right outlets who might appreciate my music. I do pitch to editorials. Any features I receive I’m grateful for them. A year of 4 releases later, I’m truly happy how far I’ve come, thanks to the right teams I found to work with.
Will I ‘make it’? I don’t care for it. My life is worth a million if I die an obscure artist because living my life on my terms has been my greatest prize. I already have my reward. For years I waited asking myself if I’ll ever release music full time. My current life is a dream come true.
I wake up in the morning feeling happy I wrote a new song during last night’s meditation. I sing away two hours every day preparing for a future dream stage, singing to these four white gorgeous walls as my daily audience.
My definition of independent music? I refuse to mould myself into something inauthentic to get visibility. Independent music is not just ‘unsigned but waiting to get signed by a label’. That is not true independence. It is “I don’t want to be signed ever, and I don’t chase virality nor try to be relateable. I choose to remain Independent of labels, lifelong. If I signed to that label I would have hated that life. In a sea of indie musicians dying to go viral and waiting to get signed by a label yes it can seem odd. But this is what I chose. And I’m proud of it.