Blog dedicated to actress/musician Leisha Hailey

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Longevity Of Indie Rock Bands


"Indie rock is genre of alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent underground music scene. It primarily refers to rock musicians that are or were unsigned, or have signed to independent record labels, rather than major record labels. Indie rock artists place a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, releasing albums on independent record labels (sometimes their own) and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, and airplay on independent or college radio stations for promotion." Now that we have an understanding of how the indie market works, let's talk...

What do you think is the state of indie rock bands today? Is longevity even an option? We all know The Murmurs, which was an American Alternative pop band initially, lasted from 1991-1997, and actually signed to a major record label--MCA Records. Then Heather & Leisha regrouped and formed Gush in 2001 and became an indie rock band in the underground music circuit until they ended their 4 year run in 2005. So combined it's safe to say they lasted 13 or 14 yrs.

But is that enough? Do our girls of have enough ppl behind them and loving their music to sustain them thoughout these formidable yrs? Leisha is not giving up the acting---will that eventually cause a strain on the band? Talk to me...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If their is passion behind the music any band, indie or mainstream, can achive longevity. With public pages like Youtube, Facebook, and MySpace it's become a little easier for indie acts to connect with people and find an audience. There are many great artists out there. Many that are very popular in the indie circuit. And just as many that only have a handful of followers. Uh Huh Her can have a long career if both Leisha and Cam really love what they are doing and as long as music excites them. Leisha's acting shouldn't be a problem. I personally don't like bands that take out albums every year. Most of the times that gives the band no time to come up with something fresh and new. A two/three year gap is good. Leisha can act and hopefuly Cam can start some kind of small side project to keep her creative juices flowing. Longevity depends on how passionate the artists are; not record sales.

speedy12 said...

You make a lot of sense anon-I guess the jist of what you're saying is that it's up to the artists how successful they are. Usually in the mainstream market of music it's up to A&R, marketing and the record company to determine how successful an artist will be. But for Indie musicians, it's a bit more challenging...I'm beginning to see the light. :)

Anonymous said...

Don't know what to say on this topic. BUT HI Speedy HOW are you.

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