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Independents Day

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Independents Day

Read this week's other feature on 'How To Pr Yourself'

Read part 2 of the indendents day feature - "A day in the life of Transgressive Records"- here

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Words by Tom Hannan

A good cause, we’re sure you’ll agree.

What in flurping shnit is Independents Day, I hear you cry? Well, first things first, stop crying. It’s a joyous thing that does not warrant tears. And secondly, no, it’s neither the annual celebration of a country’s assumption of independent statehood, nor a film about aliens starring Will Smith, nor track five on Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The River’ album. Note the spelling. It’s slightly different.

Independents Day might happen on the same day as Independence Day in America (July 4th), but for the non-jingoistic yanks among us, it’s arguably more of a cause for joy – a new initiative to raise awareness and celebrate the importance of independently released music from around the globe, loosely tied to the fiftieth anniversary of the activity of independent record labels. A good cause, we’re sure you’ll agree. And like the best of good causes, it’s also doing it’s bit for charity with an auction on eBay ending on July 6th. More on that in a sec.

"...Independent labels put less pressure on the artist, allow them time to grow, to find their feet, to experiment. But also to realise their dreams.."

Central to the idea of Independents day is the release of a double compact disc of some fascinating bands covering their favourite independently released music of all time (featured on CD1), whilst CD2 of the same set will see some new up and comers tackling the work of the bands featured on CD1, to give the whole thing a nice, warm, round and friendly feel, a little like a hug from a beloved but obese grandparent.

Expect the Futureheads, Editors, Maximo Park, The Charlatans, Feeder and The Cribs to feature on it, alongside, undoubtedly, at least a couple others too. And that’s just for the UK – Independents Day is a worldwide concern, with similarly themed records also coming out everywhere from New Zealand to South Africa, Japan to Italy and Austria to the USA. Good thing too – it’s a round world last time I checked, and if anything can bring people together, it’s rock and roll (a motto Bob Geldof relentlessly lives his life by). They’re limited edition things, only on sale for three days from their July 4th release date, and A&R’d on a territory by territory basis. It’s the indie Pokemon – see how many you can collect. Want one? Exclusive tracks n’all? Get pre-ordering HERE.

Did I say something about an auction too? I did, well remembered. It takes place on eBay from June 9th to July 6th , in aid of C.A.L.M (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) and features items such as VIP festival tickets, ‘rock star experiences’ (we reckon more along the lines of meet n’ greets than a terrifying night in the Neverland ranch) and rare merch provided by the good and the great of the music world like Arctic Monkeys, Gary Numan (the original master tape of ‘Tubeway Army’! Cool!) and Radiohead all up for grabs. They can specifically be yours to grab, if you’re all kinds of super rich, by joining in HERE – though the page is also good for just nosing about.

The Strokes - One of the many independent success stories

One thing this suggests is that far from the myth of independent artists living a life of constant hard slog, one can actually be an artist on an independent label and achieve a level of success that really does scream ‘look mum, I made it, this was a proper job after all!’ – that being the accolade of being asked to give away some clobber in a charity auction. Not all doom and gloom then? Nope, far from it – in fact, some of the most successful artists of all time started out on independent labels, from Elvis Presley to Aretha Franklin, and as the likes of Arctic Monkeys and The Strokescontinue to prove to this very day, there are ways of being massively successful without succumbing to the evil dollar or selling ones soul to a faceless corporation. It’s this that Independents Day, more than anything, strives to celebrate at the top of its lungs.

Though the scaremongers might have you believing otherwise, independent labels are in fine form at the moment, accounting for more than 80% of the annual music releases worldwide and more than a quarter’s share of the global music market, regularly winning the likes of the Mercury Music Prize and, in fact, 30% of all UK artist album awards for going gold, silver or platinum. The figures back up the general feeling of doing something good for the world artistically that many independent labels and the artists they deal with cling to so vehemently.

Of course, everything was independent once…

But now there are the four majors, and it does make a difference – majors are owned by their shareholders and are there to make money, not art. When they do their best, they make both (Prince, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen). Sometimes, it’s got to be one or the other. And you know which one they’ll go for.

Independent labels put less pressure on the artist, allow them time to grow, to find their feet, to experiment. But also to realise their dreams.

It’s up to us to celebrate difference, independence and independents – the three often go hand in hand.