Casele de discuri independente

Pun aici un articol care explica cum casele de discuri independente au fost la originea rock-ului inca dinainte de ani '50 si cum ele au ramas indispensabile dezvoltarii sale ulterioare. Principiile impotiva marilor case de discuri au aparut in perioada tarzie a hardcore punkului american - vezi Dead Kennedys, spre exemplu - tipul respectiv de gandire neexistand la sfarsitul anilor '70 in Anglia, cand a semna cu o casa mare precum EMI era considerat un lucru normal.



Independent Labels


"The story of rock & roll is not just one of musicians, songwriters, and producers. For many listeners, labels are nothing more than a name in the middle of an album or on the spine of a CD; "major" and "indie" are distinctions that concern serious fans, journalists, and industry insiders. Rock's ascension as the most popular music of the last half of the 20th century, however, owes much to the pioneering efforts of independent labels, which continue to act as a source of innovation, both on their own and as an influence on "majors," labels run or distributed by major corporations. When rock & roll had its first birth pangs just after World War II, the record industry was dominated by a half dozen major labels — Capitol, MGM, Decca, Mercury, Columbia, and RCA. By and large they played it safe in the popular music field, leaving the more specialized tastes of the R&B and country & western audiences to smaller, regional companies. Somewhat condescendingly referred to as "race" and "hillbilly" music, the majors felt these markets were too small and crude to cater to, and their A&R departments developed little in the way of talent for their rosters.


This left the field open for smaller enterpreneurs, who faced a much tougher battle in recording their acts, promoting them, and getting them airplay. On the other hand, they were less constrained by established formulas, and able to record more creative and uninhibited performers, satisfying the increasingly hungry demand for raucous R&B and C&W sounds. Charlie Gillett's history of rock & roll, The Sound of the City, views the birth of rock & roll primarily as a phenomenon of independent labels developing and marketing music that the majors were ignoring, and does an excellent job of detailing the many influential independent early rock and R&B labels and their rise to commercial success.

It would be a mistake to cast these independent labels as champions of the artistic vanguard, fighting corporate monoliths. Many independent executives treated their artists shoddily, signing them to exploitative contracts, withholding royalties, and casting them aside when they fell from commercial grace. While visionaries such as Sun Records' Sam Phillips and Atlantic's Jerry Wexler were probably motivated as much or more by love of music as profit, many were hustlers seeking a piece of the action by finding whatever niche market they could. Lacking the powerful distribution networks of the majors, all of them were compelled to do things the hard way, driving from town to town to push their latest singles, chatting up and giving gifts to influential DJs in exchange for airplay.

Stations that gave the new sounds such airplay become increasingly plentiful after 1950, and by the mid-'50s the music which was just starting to be called "rock & roll" was becoming an important part of the popular music market. The great majority of the early rock & roll records were released on independent labels, many of which have assumed legendary status in the decades since. Sun, Atlantic, Specialty, Chess, Imperial, Modern, VeeJay, King, Duke/Peacock — all boasted rosters of incredible talent that left permanent imprints on rock & roll. And there were dozens of other independent labels of note, some of which only released one or two hits, some of which released only regional hits, but many of which recorded lasting contributions to rock history.

The majors responded defensively at first, either ignoring rock & roll almost entirely (as Columbia did) or recording watered-down "cover" versions for the pop market. Innovators like Bill Haley and Elvis Presley were signed to major labels and launched to superstardom after establishing themselves on independent labels. The majors vs. indies battle wasn't black-and-white by any means — early greats Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly were signed by major labels without any track record, and went on to record some of the very best rock & roll of the 1950s.

By the end of the 1950s, independents were responsible for about twice as many Top Ten singles as majors, and about three times as many Top Ten rock singles. In the 1960s, major labels didn't so much fight back against indies as adapt to the rock era, starting to focus their energies on developing rock talent rather than more middle-of-the-road sounds. Indies were still a major force in rock & roll; labels like Kama Sutra, Red Bird, Philles, Stax/Volt, and many others developed outstanding rosters, and Motown became the most successful independent label of all time, establishing a commercial presence that rivaled the majors — with the R&B and soul performers that would have been considered a mere "race" market 10-15 years earlier.

In Britain, at the time the Beatles and others claimed a large part of the international pop market, the situation was much more restrictive. Virtually every artist recorded for one of four major companies: EMI, Decca, Pye, and Philips. Somewhat by way of compensation, these labels had huge and varied rosters that were somewhat more adventurous than their U.S. counterparts. In the mid-'60s, several British independents began to make their presence known by recording some of the era's most innovative rock. Encompassing artists like the Small Faces the Who, Cream, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix and (in the late '60s) the Beatles labels like Immediate, Reaction, Track, Island (which began primarily as a ska and bluebeat concern), and the Beatles' Apple unleashed determinedly progressive sounds, although it's important to note that all of those labels benefited from distribution deals with majors. In the U.S. there were also companies that fostered self-consciously progressive rosters, especially Elektra, which hit it big with the Doors and recorded several other influential folk-rock and psychedelic acts.

The 1970s were a time of conglomeration, in which the majors expanded their power by establishing distribution deals with some of the most successful independents. Plenty of independent R&B and Black pop continued to chart, but that genre was increasingly becoming the province of the majors. Mid- and late-'70s punk and new wave bands were often thwarted by industry resistance, which gave birth to the D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) ethic in both Britain and the U.S. Realizing that majors weren't going to sign and promote them, or would try to refine their sound, bands put out their own records, formed their own labels, or signed with indies, trading commercial success for artistic freedom. Labels like Britain's Stiff were instrumental in shaping new wave music, though Stiff, like some others, was not averse to major-label distribution to achieve wider exposure.

In the 1980s, the indie ethic became more sociopolitical and divisive. Many performers, critics, label owners, and fans took a virulent anti-major-label stance, seeing major labels as a malignant, homogenizing force that threatened to destroy creativity and hinder artistic expression. The independent/alternative rock network of hundreds of labels, fanzines, and college/community radio stations allowed artists to record and release music that was not only outside of the commercial mainstream, but often actively opposed to it. Labels like SST, Alternative Tentacles, Touch & Go, Sub Pop, and 4AD developed identifiable sounds and styles that constituted artistic visions in and of themselves. Others, like Slash, tried to play it both ways, arranging for distribution deals with majors. The majors tapped into the growing alternative rock market by cutting distribution deals with successful indies, or treating indie labels as farm teams, signing the most successful prospects (bands) after they'd honed their sounds in the minor leagues (which were usually clubs and college radio stations).

Rap was another form of music which encountered some industry resistance, giving rise to many independent rap labels. By and large they weren't as suspicious of mainstream popularity, and many of the most successful indie records of the '80s were rap discs by superstars like Run-D.M.C. and Salt-N-Pepa Actually, these were among the very few 100% indie productions to become hits; the majors were now composed of six mega-conglomerates, which in the mid-'90s were Sony, CEMA, BMG, PGD, WEA, and UNI (the initials may change according to corporate sales and reorganizations in the future). It's difficult to ascertain an exact figure, but an educated guess would estimate that these labels are responsible for about 90% of the sales in today's market.

The push-and-pull between major and indie labels continues unabated in the mid-'90s. When indie rock superstars like Husker Du leaped to major labels in the mid-'80s, the sales figures were modest. The multi-million-selling success of Nirvana however, paved the way for grunge music and a wholesale infiltration of the charts by scabrous alternative rockers like Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, Liz Phair and Beck that wouldn't have stood a chance of denting the Top 100 just ten years ago. It's an explosion that wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of independent labels, which were the first to record and develop most of these acts.

Indie labels, however, shouldn't be viewed merely as a proving ground for the stars of tomorrow. It's the music that matters, and independent labels continue to house some of the best talent in rock and pop, as well as cultivate some of its most innovative sounds and trends by offering a climate that isn't as obsessed with charts and commercial success. The non-rock music that continues to influence rock — folk, blues, jazz, reggae, world beat, the avant-garde — is also usually found on small labels. All indies continue to fight the same obstacles of limited distribution, budgets, and exposure as they did 50 years ago, but they will continue to exert a major influence as long as rock & roll is around."

Richie Unterberger, Allmusic