Is indie pop an oxymoron?

[Riseagainst25]

My friend asked me this "wonderful" question today and I honestly couldn't give her a straight answer... I'm still thinking about it. So, what do you think? Is it an oxymoron or not?

[selfishstars]

Not necessarily.

Indie is short for independent---meaning independent from a major record label. "Indie music" could essentially fall under any genre (rock, rap, country, and so on). But I would say that many people do use the term to describe music that is unique or not mainstream.

Pop is short for popular, so it's usually used to describe top-40s stuff, but any song could become popular. Although, there is a general structure that seems to go hand-in-hand for music described as "pop". From wikipedia: "there are core elements which define pop. Such include generally short-to-medium length songs, written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and catchy hooks."

So, it sort of depends on what definition you're using for each word. Independent musicians CAN become popular (though they probably have a more difficult time doing so), or they can follow the general structure of pop music. That wouldn't be an oxymoron.

But if you're taking indie to mean "unique and not mainstream", then I guess it would be an oxymoron (since it would by definition not be popular/mainstream and would have a unique sound to it, rather than following a basic format.

I've always used "indie" to mean independent, but there are times that, not knowing whether a band is on an independent record label, I have described the band as "indie" simply based on sound (i.e. not the type of music you'd expect to hear on a top-40s station).

[Riseagainst25]

Perfect answer. Thanks :)

[EverythingReal]

Well, here are the definitions of Indie

1. (of a pop group or record label) Not belonging to or affiliated with a major record company.

2. (of a movie) Not produced by a major studio: "she's landed herself the lead in an indie horror movie".

I think it is an oxymoron. Indie being not produced majorly, pop meaning popular.

Not that it doesn't exist, because it does, it's just an oxymoron.

[kereru]

no,

to me "indie" refers to the production... an independent label, producing music without a big outside influence from record executives, going it alone etc ..."pop" refers to a style, a catchy easily accessible sound , a band doesn't have to be "sell outs", main stream or even be aiming for actual popularity to have that sound.

perfect example:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=qutcmPmYUpg

[iNeedYourAdvice]

I have also discussed this with a friend of mine. It's an oxymoron because the original meaning of pop is popular, while indie means individual or unique. By saying something is popular it is no longer "unique" to listen to the music, thereby creating the oxymoron.

This is also assuming that music is categorised by who is likely to listen to it, rather than the musical elements themselves; which tends to be the case these days.

[GAG1989]

Not necessarily. Indie isn't just "independent". Indie is a type of music production. If you listen to the Silversun Pickups, they're an Indie band but are popular because of the way they produce their music

[MeAndAHalf]

aside from all the other answers I guess you can have popular indie music, or artists that start indie or have a indie sound then sign with a label, WOW this is a brain teaser.

[RedSmartie]

No, be cause indie means it's an independent label and pop is the style. So a pop style on an independent label is very possible.

[thisusername2]

Yes it is.