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THE ORIGINS OF INDIE MUSIC

Indie rock also known as Alternative, Came to

life in the mid 1980s, becoming popular with
college kids in America due to key bands for
example, R.E.M and likewise The Smiths
were hugely popular with University students
in the UK.

As the genre developed in the 1990s

alternative rock bands moved into the
mainstream limelight and the term
"alternative" lost its original counter-cultural
meaning ,as it was now achieving mainstream
success.

In the early 21st century changes in the music

industry, with the decline in record sales and
growth of new digital technology increased use
of the Internet as a tool for music promotion,
allowing a new wave of indie rock bands to
achieve mainstream success.

MOST INFLUENTIAL INDIE ROCK BANDS

OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Arctic Monkeys- possibly the most impactful alternative rock band,

setting todays codes and conventions on what a cool band in this genre
should wear on tour, at concerts and in their music videos. Becoming
famous through fan recognition on Myspace, gaining vast word of
mouth promotion effectively catapulting them to stardom.

The Killers- set the president on how to distribute and create an

effective indie music video, with Mr Brightside released in 2010, and
distributed onto YouTube gained international recognition reaching 108
million views in total.

Arcade Fire- Canadian band commonly known for their originality in the
music they produce, almost a trend setter for other bands to emulate.

All of the above bands are submissive to the traditional conventional of

the genre because ;they consist solely of male artists, have rebellious
undertones in their music, dont mind standing out from the crowd in
their dress sense and started life as independent artists.