Part 1 of a potentially never-ending series of articles on the meaning of "independent." As was rhetorically posed regarding Rykodisc in this article on Mission of Burma, being independent means many different things to many different people. For labels, it may mean corporate autonomy from the Big 5 Record Labels. For musicians, it may mean signing to independent labels. For fans, it may mean a lack of affliation with the Recording Industry Association of America.
Pitchfork recently noted that a Clear Channel owned and operated radio station in LA is switching to an "indie" format playlist. But does the word "indie" mean anything in this context? The bands played in one hour on KDLD 103.1 include the White Stripes, U2, Michael Andrews, Social Distortion, X, the Smiths, NOFX, Stone Temple Pilots, the Pixies, the Police, Ima Robot, the Foo Fighters, Atmosphere, the Beastie Boys, and Nirvana. While those bands are definitely "alternative" (in the sense that they are different than Britney or Christina), the only bands on that list that are signed to non-RIAA labels are Atmosphere and NOFX. Still, an interesting move by Clear Channel, and one to be watched closely in the months to come.