The general definition of independent music or indie is any music that is not produced by a recording label, but facilitated by the bands or artists themselves. Most of the UK independent music bands will come together to organise shows from which they raise money to finance their tours and sustain their live hoods. They rely on their fans to spread the word about their gigs and tours and will also get financial support from local followers. Given that Indie music is any unsigned music, it is however characterised by the inclusion of the guitar as part of the musical instruments, with the exceptions of musicians like Keane. They are however a few types of Indie music that dominate the UK independent music scene.

Indie Pop can trace its roots to UK in the mid 80’s. This period witnessed a sturdy increase in bands with a pop inclination though characterised by simple guitar sounds, different from the major record labels penchant to synthetically produced sounds. A good example of a UK independent music label that saw the rapid growth and development in the 1980’s is the Postcard Records who are known for having signed up independent bands like Orange Juice.

Indie Rock was more a diversion from the UK independent music style f delivery and has its roots in the USA. This is descendent from the punk way of doing things, which encouraged DIY and dumpster diving lifestyles as attempts to get back at organisations perceived as manipulative. Unlike the indie pop, this genre is characterised by harsh heavy metal sounds. Some bands achieved huge success during the 90’s and chose to sign in with major recording labels, hence deviating from the independent music culture, and joining a genre called Alternative music. Those who remained unsigned kept their identity as indie.