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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 15h

Episode 2 of 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke goes back to the years before the breakthrough. Indie rock was still being made in dingy clubs and tiny scenes across North America, long before anyone was putting it on magazine covers.

A card designed to look like a page in a scrapbook has a photo of two men at the top, and a quote in the middle that reads, "Suddenly we found ourselves... building off the inner circle of Broken Social." Kevin Drew, Broken Social Scene

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A little preview of Episode 2 of 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke, which comes out Wednesday, September 30. 💿 When the Shins were still Flake Music, they toured with Modest Mouse, and James Mercer handed Isaac Brock an early version of "New Slang" on a burned CD.

An orange box has a design in it that looks like an email. The text says: "The Shins caught their break the old-fashioned way — by giving a friend with connections a burned CD."

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Alex Patsavas was music supervisor for the Fox teen drama The O.C., which in the early 2000s meant her job included having a physical relationship with a mountain of CDs. It was on her to actually listen and figure out what fit.

A Post-It note card has a quote that reads, “I had a small office in Hollywood, and it was just ceiling-to-floor CDs in a practically oppressive way.” Alex Patsavas, music supervisor, The O.C.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Laura Ballance of Superchunk co-founded Merge Records. For most bands on the label, success meant a record that sold a few thousand copies and got a band from one city to the next on tour. Bands would build slowly, city by city, on word of mouth and a fanbase.

A Post-It note card has a quote that reads, "It didn't even occur to us that a record on Merge could explode in the way the Arcade Fire record did." - Laura Ballance, Merge Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Before a record could change your life, it had to get to the store. And before it got to the store, someone had to move it there — physically, in a truck, through a warehouse, into a distribution network.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "If somebody doesn't pay you, you can't pay somebody else. That's, in many ways, the nature of being independent." Amy Dietz, ADA

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Kris Chen was the second guy hired at Domino Records in America, to replace Daniel Kessler of Interpol, who was leaving to do his band full time.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "I used my personal credit card to buy flights for Franz Ferdinand. I booked hotels and booked the first couple of shows." Kris Chen, Domino Records.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Josh Schwartz created The O.C., and by season two he'd built something that shouldn't have existed on network television: a fictional live music venue, The Bait Shop, that existed purely so his favorite bands could show up and perform.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "I was probably a little bit drunk on power, like a kid in a candy shop. Wait, you mean Death Cab will perform, and Modest Mouse will perform?" Josh Schwartz, executive producer, The O.C.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Getting an indie band onto commercial radio in 2004 was not supposed to happen. The major labels had the relationships, the promotional budgets, and the leverage. Independent labels had guys like Aaron Axelsen.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "A shift in music at the time... led to this explosion of culture and music in indie rock in 2004." Aaron Axelson, Live 105

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Reposted by 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke

Debbie Ball @debbieball.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy launch day for episode 1 of @2004pod.bsky.social ✨ Do give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts!

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

TV on the Radio and Joanna Newsom played free shows at Sonic Boom Records in Seattle back in 2004, and those are moments Nabil Ayers still talks about with disbelief because he loved those artists.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "It was crazy that in 2004, when these bands were getting famous, we could still get them to come play for free in our record store." Nabil Ayers, Sonic Boom Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

When Tony Kiewel joined Sub Pop, it was well after the label's Nirvana-era peak and into the subsequent lean years. The label had become small and careful, signing bands based on what it could actually afford, not what it hoped might blow up.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "I think almost all of those records we made in those first few years of the 200s were made for less than $10,000." Tony Kiewel, Sub Pop Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Episode 1 of 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke opens backstage at an MTV taping in Times Square, where Death Cab for Cutie are uncomfortably sandwiched between Nickelback and Sarah Silverman. At one point, someone asks if Jeremy Piven can sit in on drums. Obviously, the band said no.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Lyle Hysen founded Bank Robber Music, spending decades on the side of the business that placed songs in movies, TV shows, and commercials. A band he worked with turned down a Hummer ad for an amount of money he still calls insane, then tried to take it back a week later. Too late.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "I remember one of my bands turned down a Hummer commercial, and it was a lot of money. It was an insane amount of money." Lyle Hysen, founder, Bank Robber Music

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Reposted by 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke

Courtney E. Smith @thecourtneyesmith.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Hi, I just want people to know that yes there is an entire episode on how better physical and digital distribution improvements were a literal game changer for you actually being able to buy indie albums in the 2000s. And you’re gonna love it.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Want to know more about what is on the 2004 podcast? The episode breakdown guide is here, ahead of our first episode dropping on Wednesday. September 23. www.2004pod.com/p/2004-indie...

2004pod.com

What's on the podcast?

An episode-by-episode breakdown

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

When Arcade Fire played CMJ in the fall of 2004, something was in the air. Mac McCaughan, co-founder of Merge Records, was there. His label put out Funeral, and he says that past a certain point, every show was packed. It was one of those rare moments where the hype and the reality were the same.

Three people stand with their hands stretched out towards the camera, smiling. On the left is a man with sandy brown hair and swoopy bangs in a black sweater. In the middle, a shorter woman with curly dark brown hair pulled back. And to the right a tall man with red hair and glasses.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Kris Chen was the second guy hired at Domino Records in America, to replace Daniel Kessler of Interpol who was leaving to do his band, Interpol, full time.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Sarah Lewitinn was a lot of things in the 2000s, and one of them was a music blogger writing under the name Ultragrrrl. Another was an assistant editor at Spin. She was embedded in a version of the 2000s Manhattan post-punk revival scene.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "In 2004, I was doing a lot of things I probably will regret at some point in my life." - Sarah Lewitinn, Spin magazine.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Before Spotify had an algorithm, before blogs had comment sections, before anyone had figured out what the internet was supposed to do with music — there was Epitonic.

A post it note frame reads: "Everything was free. And it was highly curated... We wanted to make sure it was legit." Justin Sinkovich, Epitonic

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Jon Landman at The Syndicate remembers exactly what it took to get an indie band heard on commercial radio in 2004: Making sure the right people felt like they discovered something, rather than being sold something.

A post it note frame reads: "As we look back, it's pretty amazing that a lot of these artists are still touring and doing it on their own terms." Jon Landman, The Syndicate

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Robb Nansel started Saddle Creek Records out of Omaha, Nebraska — about as far from the New York and L.A. music industry conversation as you could get. It was just Robb and a small crew calling, trying to get anyone to pay attention.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "We had all convinced ourselves that major labels were the enemy and nothing good could ever come from them." Robb Nansel, Saddle Creek

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Commercial radio in 2004 had a payola problem. Labels were sending programmers on trips, handing out gifts, and paying under-the-table promoters to get songs added to rotation. It was pervasive, it was widespread, and it eventually landed Sony Music in a lawsuit with the New York Attorney General.

A post-it pad style frame holds a quote that says: “We pissed a lot of people off in the industry, quite frankly, because we just didn’t play the game.” Matt Shiverdecker, WOXY

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

That kind of love that fans of the Shins felt for that band is good for the whole scene. Megan Jasper remembers how quickly their fanbase grew, even when major labels didn't know who the band was yet.

A post it note frame reads: "The Shins were the band that every single person loved and thought was theirs and theirs alone." Megan Jasper, Sub Pop Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Ryan Schreiber started Pitchfork in 1996, and for years he ran it with a small group of people who loved music enough to have opinions about it. The tone was a mix of snarky and enthusiastic. And it existed way outside of the mainstream because it was only accessible on the internet.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "Nobody was formally educated, for the most part, on writing about music. We were passionate music fans who had something to say." -Ryan Schreiber, founder, Pitchfork

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

What record did you put on for Sunday afternoons in 2004?

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It's easy to forget that "the internet democratized music" is an idea people only started believing after it had already happened. In 2004, most labels were still skeptical about whether the internet sold records or did anything at all, really.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Daniel Kessler of Interpol emailed Gerard Cosloy, the cofounder of Matador Records, demos and show invites for a while. Gerard mostly gave his advances the brush-off. When Gerard did listen, his verdict was measured skepticism: fine guy, fine demos, nothing urgent.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "Initially we were pretty skeptical... I don't think Interpol was necessarily a band that we were taking very seriously or scouting." Gerard Cosloy, Matador Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

In the late 1990s, Rolling Stone decided the internet was someone else's problem. So, it licensed its website out to a third party and went back to worrying about editorial content.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: “Rolling Stone decided they wanted to focus on the magazine. They didn’t want to have to deal with all this technology junk.” David Krinsky, Real Networks/RollingStone.com

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Arcade Fire's first promotional download. Sufjan Stevens, too. Six of eight slots on Rolling Stone's website in a single week. Dick Huey at Toolshed was operating at the center of how indie music moved on the internet in 2004.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: “One week, six of the eight slots on Rolling Stone were downloads from my company. I couldn't believe it." - Dick Huey, Toolshed

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Helen Pai produced Gilmore Girls, and the show's most music-obsessed character, Lane Kim, was loosely inspired by her — including Lane's relationship with Dave Rygalski, which echoed Helen's own relationship with her husband of the same name.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "Let's just say, we wrote a lot of letters trying to convince people to license music to the Gilmore Girls." Helen Pai, producer, Gilmore Girls

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Nic Harcourt hosted Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW, and for a stretch in the early 2000s, that show was one of the most influential tastemaking outlets in the country. Not because of ratings, but because of who was listening.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "9/11 really changed a lot of things. It changed what music people wanted to listen to, I think." Nic Harcourt, KCRW/Morning Becomes Eclectic

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Alex Luke had a front-row seat that almost no one else in the music industry got. He was head of music at Napster, then left to help launch the iTunes Store — jumping from the company that broke the industry's old model to the one that would replace it.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "The early adopters of tech, and specifically music tech, were over-indexing on indie and alternative music." Alex Luke, iTunes

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Adam Zacks started Sasquatch Festival in 2002, the same year Bonnaroo launched on the opposite coast — two festivals betting that the old single-genre, radio-driven model was already breaking apart.

A designed frame with a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "There was this rise of independent music because the barriers to distribution were melting in front of our eyes." Adam Zacks, founder, Sasquach Festival

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Every band on the rise eventually has to decide: Do you want to be successful, or do you want to be good? As if those two things live on opposite ends of a seesaw. As if wanting one automatically means betraying the other.

A frame designed to look like a post-it note holds a quote that reads: "Do not mistake our artistic integrity for the fact that we all want to be successful, but artistic integrity comes first." Jeffrey Remedios, Arts & Crafts Records

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Bethany Cosentino is the host of 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke, and she's not coming to it as an outside observer. She was a teenager in Los Angeles in 2004, already finding most of the bands that would later show up on The O.C. before the show got to them.

Singer Bethany Cosentino sits in a window sill, wearing a t-shirt and tiger-print sweater. Bright red drapes cover the window behind her.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Josh Rosenfeld co-founded Barsuk Records, and Death Cab for Cutie was on the label for its first four albums — the whole run before the major label, before the O.C. name-drops, before any of it.

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2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke @2004pod.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Get ready to go back in time to the year 2004, when Seth Cohen is on The O.C., saying Death Cab for Cutie is his favorite band, while Natalie Portman is in Garden State, exclaiming that a Shins song will change your life.

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