Indies, Then and Now

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010

Shoppers are heading to independently owned music shops this weekend for Record Store Day, a nationwide fête of retail sales and live music held annually since 2007. Today: a look at independent labels like Chess and Atlantic that gave birth to the modern recording industry. Plus: how some indies are surviving in the digital age. Guests include John Broven, author of Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers, and Laura Ballance, co-founder of Durham, N.C.-based Merge Records and a member of the band Superchunk.

Blog: John Schaefer on the secret to success for indie labels

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