Indie music and the question of what gets called "indie" is a definitional problem that has gotten worse over time.

"Indie" started as a description of a distribution relationship — music released on independent labels without major label distribution. Over time it became a description of a sonic aesthetic — a certain kind of guitar-based rock with a specific production approach and lyrical register. Now it's used as a cultural category that encompasses everything from genuinely independent artists releasing music to 200 fans on Bandcamp to major-label artists who have the sonic signifiers of indie without any of the actual independence.

I've mostly given up using "indie" as a meaningful descriptor and try to be more specific about what I mean. When I say something is independent, I mean it's on an independent label or self-released. When I say something sounds like a certain kind of music, I try to describe that sound rather than using the genre label.

The problem is that the language shapes the thinking, and everyone in and around the music still uses "indie" as a meaningful category even though the category has stopped meaningfully distinguishing anything.