What is an "indie band"?

Answer 1

Originally, it's meant to mean "independent", as in, not signed to a major record label.
But it has since come to be a genre for bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The White Stripes, Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins etc. Even though they are major label artists. It's just a way to describe them, since they are thought to have a more "independent" sound, as opposed to sounding "mainstream".

Answer 2

Indie's a slang for independent so it's an independent band, which is when the music the band plays is like more..urban in the rock sense and they're not in the biggest music records.

An example of indie music would be in the Killers "Sam's Town"..it's like different from the stuff you hear on the radio.

Answer 3

Two answers to that.

It can mean either:
1. A band that is independent and not signed to a major label.
2. A band of the "indie rock" genre (which is also sometimes called college rock), which is simple garage-style rock, for the most part. Sort of pre-emo, in terms of style but not sound. The Afghan Whigs, Belle & Sebastian, even Weezer once fit this catagory.

Answer 4

A band that is 'independant', i.e. not signed to a record label

its also a genre of music now, bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire etc

Answer 5

a band signed to an independent label, not a major one. or a band with no label at all.
a good example is Clap Your Hands Say Yea. they sold 70.000 copies of their first album with no record label at all. that is truly amazing.
there are alot of douchebag bands on major labels that call themselves indie. that's crap.

Answer 6

They play "indie" music, or individual music. It kinda falls into the miscelaneous section of music; it doesnt follow the "rules"

Answer 7

It's when the Indiebums pull their bows really hard and 'twang' them

Answer 8

they are the locals nobody has ever heard of

and if they have a CD - they produced(funded) it themselves