The "Genrefication" of Indie and Underground Music

If you asked me in high school, “What kind of music do you listen to?” I would’ve responded, “indie,” under the impression that “indie” meant anything that wasn’t mainstream. But is that actually what it means? Is this description based on the status or reputation of a type of music, or rather, a subculture of sound? And is “underground” now being used to describe something similar?

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Within the music industry, “indie” is short for “independent,” referring to music that does not rely on a major record label for financial support. During the 1970s and 1980s, bands like R.E.M. and Tears for Fears started releasing music outside of major record labels and opted for smaller, independent record labels instead. Skipping ahead to the 1990s, Nirvana released Nevermind through the independent Seattle record label Sub Pop. The success of this album proved that indie artists could still achieve mainstream success. During this time, the do-it-yourself approach became popular, meaning that the artist created everything from recording to promotion. At the turn of the 21st century, online platforms like SoundCloud and Bandcamp made it easier than ever for independent artists to share their music globally. Then, in the 2010s, streaming platforms such as Spotify and Tidal helped promote smaller artists through curated playlists and algorithms. This shift from DIY creation and promotion to algorithms and online virality has helped independent artists reach audiences and labels more quickly and easily.

Beyond this definition of an artist’s status within the music industry, what characterizes indie as a sound? Indie music may sound rough around the edges. It includes the subgenre “bedroom production,” which mimics the do-it-yourself origins of independent music. Clairo’s discography embodies what indie means. She released “Pretty Girl” in 2017, while she was a senior in high school, and recorded it in GarageBand. After the song gained attention, she signed with the independent label Fader. Now, eight years later, Clairo is signed to Atlantic Records, which is under one of the “big three” major labels. In this instance, Clairo might still be considered an indie artist, despite no longer being backed by an independent label, given the style of her music.

Nowadays, I’ve been seeing the term “underground” music used both as a genre and as a “scene.” While there are multiple connotations, the term is commonly used to mean anything that isn’t considered mainstream and something you have to essentially “dig for.” Underground music has origins in a movement rather than a sound, emphasizing rebellion and rejecting the mainstream. The term emerged in the 1960s with the rise of the hippie movement, referring to a group of people who were against the establishment.

Similar to indie music, underground music also embraces a do-it-yourself approach, with self-promotion through handmade posters and shows in small venues. Before the 1990s, the term was used to describe the underground scene, but it has shifted to describe a sound. More recently, underground music is most closely tied to rap and hip-hop, which have thrived with the rise of the internet and online streaming platforms. What makes the underground rap scene so interesting to an online audience is its constant experimentation, which isn’t seen much in mainstream rap and hip hop. Many underground rap artists include a variety of samples, electronic synths, and layered production to stand out against their mainstream counterparts.

Despite his mainstream success, Playboi Carti’s unique style can be considered underground because of his commitment to his roots. He emerged from the Atlanta underground scene and made a name for himself with his cloud rap and rage music. These subgenres are unlike what other mainstream rappers were doing when Carti started gaining traction. His most recent 2025 album release, MUSIC, is seen as an homage to the underground Atlanta rap scene, featuring intense production style and interpolations of popular Atlanta rappers. Although an assortment of Carti’s works from the last five years, MUSIC expands upon the sound that he began his career with by acknowledging his progression and drawing from new influences and sounds. Similar to Clairo’s case, I would argue that, despite no longer being an underground artist, Carti's current style of music sonically aligns with underground music. In fact, while researching, I came across this Reddit thread titled, “Why do people still pretend that Carti is ‘underground,’” to which user @darkknightt0 responded by saying, “Mainstream artists, but not mainstream sound, basically.” While I understand what they’re saying, I don’t believe it’s just Carti’s sound that classifies him as “underground.”

“Indie” and “underground” are now used to describe, for lack of a better term, a “vibe,” in that there isn’t a clear definition of what this means. These terms have become interchangeable when describing a sound, a status, and a reputation, and while none of these definitions may be wrong, they tackle different angles of the same idea. Both indie and underground music originated in rejecting what was considered mainstream, and both relied heavily on grassroots support. Simplifying indie and underground music as a genre erases the history and origins that shaped it. This puts these scenes in a box of what is “expected,” packaged into something that can be understood and accepted by the masses. To name Clairo and Playboi Carti the spokespeople for indie and underground music, respectively, is an overgeneralization. However, based on their origins in the music industry, both artists have built careers through experimentation, regardless of what their audiences or the mainstream expect of them.