Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that started off in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is a genre with many sub-genres that include indie pop and jangle pop.

The definition of ‘indie rock’ is argued about today by many musicians. Many use the term ‘indie’ to describe any rock music produced by artists working with independent record labels and music venues that emerged in the United States and UK which begun in the 80’s.

Others see indie rock as a distinct genre of rock music with a specific artists individual style, and care less about the context in which it is made. Some however use both meanings of the word, believing that the style of the genre and its means of production are linked together.

Indie artists are acknowledged for being able to maintain control of their music and careers, releasing albums with independent record labels, making them different from other artists from other genres. This fits the indie conventions if you will, as ‘indie’ stands for individual and unique. However, in the 2000's many acts with an indie music style signed to major record labels and began promoting themselves through more traditional media methods. Due to this major change the definition of ‘indie’, being unique and different from everyone else can not always be an acceptable description.

1980s

In the 1980s, alternative rock, used as a term, was more or less synonymous with indie rock. In the United States, the term "indie rock" was particularly associated with the abrasive, distortion-heavy sounds of Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets and Dinosaur Jr. R.E.M. is often associated with the college rock movement of the 1980s.In the United Kingdom, indie pop artists such as Aztec Camera, Josef K, and Orange Juice emerged in the 1980s. This era also saw the birth of the C86 indie-pop movement and the twee pop of Sarah Records artists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_rock#Development:_1990s

2000’s – Present day

In the 2000s, the changing music industry, the decline in record sales, the growth of new digital technology and increased use of the Internet for music promotion, allowed a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success. Existing indie bands that were now able to enter the mainstream including Modest Mouse (who reached the US top 40 and was nominated for a Grammy Award) and Bright Eyes (who in 2004 had two singles at the top of the Billboard magazine Hot 100 Single Sales). This new commercial breakthrough and the widespread use of the term indie to other forms of popular culture, led a number of commentators to suggest that indie rock had ceased to be a meaningful term.