The Smashing Pumpkins in the context of "Pixies (band)"

Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedom, low budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation. It originated from the liberties afforded by independent record labels. Indie music describes a number of related styles, but generally refers to guitar-oriented music that deviates from mainstream conventions. There are a number of subgenres of independent music which combine its characteristics with other genres, such as indie pop, indie rock, indie folk, and indie electronic. Additionally, in certain circles, the term indie has taken on a definition entirely based on the typical sound of independent music in the 1980s, losing its connection to production style.

The origins of independent music lie in the early distribution of private press albums from the 1960s–1970s as well as late '70s British independent record labels, from the early alternative music scene such as Rough Trade, Factory, Industrial Records and Mute, which later contributed to the development of alternative rock music. NME released the influential compilation album C86 in 1986, which helped define indie rock. American independent music first emerged in the 1980s, and was spread via college radios, which led to the term college rock. Styles that evolved out of indie music and reached wide commercial success in the 1990s include grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the Smashing Pumpkins) and Britpop (Blur, Pulp, and Oasis). In the 21st century, due to the internet, indie music saw a global spread in popularity, as music fans were no longer dependent on physical publications to find new music.