Indie pop traces its roots back to post-punk fanzines and small independent record labels in London and Glasgow in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Its popularity grew with the publication of indie music charts in music magazines. A defining compilation cassette called C81 featured a wide range of emerging indie pop groups. Indie pop reflects the underground music scene's mellower side, with a greater emphasis on melodies, arrangements, and songwriting. It encompasses diverse styles from chamber pop to twee pop but focuses more on songcraft over sonic experimentation while still embracing the DIY ethos of punk rock.

1. INDIE POP

2. ROOTS…
The birth of indie pop can be traced back to the post-punk
explosion in limited-circulation photocopied fanzines, and
small shop-based record labels such as London's Rough
Trade Records and Glasgow's Postcard Records. The
publication in Record Business magazine of the first
weekly indie singles and album charts and the adoption of
such charts in the UK music press stimulated activity. In
order to reflect this, the British musical weekly New
Musical Express released an era-defining compilation
cassette called C81. This cassette featured a wide range of
groups, reflecting the different approaches of the
immediate post-punk era.

3. THE MUSIC…
Indie rock's more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-
free counterpart, Indie Pop reflects the underground's
softer, sweeter side, with a greater emphasis on
harmonies, arrangements, and song craft. Encompassing
everything from the lush orchestration of chamber pop to
the primitive simplicity of twee pop, its focus is
nevertheless more on the songs than on the sound, and
although both indie pop and indie rock embrace the D.I.Y.
spirit of punk, the former rejects punk's nihilistic attitude
and abrasive sonic approach.