Independence: A Musical Point of View

On this Independence weekend, I began to think about the word from a musical point of view. For many years I thought there were only two classifications for artists—signed or independent. Now I realize there are three categories—artists signed to major labels, artists signed to independent labels, and the DIY’s or “Do It Yourselfers”. Some of the dictionary definitions for independence are: 1) the freedom from the influence of others; 2) exemption from external control or support; 3) not relying on others for aid or support; 4) self-confidence. I’d like to address those definitions. No matter what we do, we are influenced. I once read that a genius is someone who takes the ideas of others and creates something new that they can call their own. Examples would be Martha Graham, the pioneer of modern dance; the composer Stravinsky; writer, T.S. Eliot; and visual artist, Picasso. They all took ideas from others and created something new and exciting. But in all cases, these geniuses had support from family, friends, colleagues, and others who believed in their cause or product. “Freedom from the influence of others”, might be interpreted as, “I’m not going to conform or give-in. I’m going to do things my way. I’m not going to rely on a record label that has certain expectations and control over my product.” While DIY’s are in fact influenced by the music of other artists, and exhibit self-confidence to take the DIY route, they are in need of a support system. History often repeats itself. In this “upside down” time within the music industry, I am reminded of the rise of the Punk Rock era of DIY. In the words of Greg Ginn, “I’m proud of what Black Flag had done from beginning to the end, and I thought, ‘I have been fortunate enough to never have played a note of music that I didn’t really want to play’ . . . . the songs are more what the band is about . . . . . that attitude of do-it-yourself. Black Flag promoted the idea of just jumping off the ledge and doing it.” (from the book “Our Band Could Be Your Life”, Michael Azerrad, p. 60).

*Greg Ginn founded SST Records and the band Black Flag. All aspects of the label and the band were done in-house.