NOT EVERY NEW INDIE BAND IS COPYING FONTAINES D.C.

There is a recent reoccurring theme of younger bands being overshadowed. Being grouped and put into categories they haven’t even walked through the door of; genres and sounds being put upon them without a second thought. It’s something that bothers me as someone who ventures into all types of music. You go to a gig and hear a great band, who have evidently put time and effort into their music, only to hear the judicial system of a crowd member place accusations of copying and replicating upon them. That they’re just a cheap rip off of a band from thirty years ago, or that they have no original taste due to the fact one of their member’s dress sense slightly resembles that of Kurt Cobain. It seems that no new band can escape the plague of being told they are just trying to be someone else. 

It’s become something ritualistic, that every band sounds Iike an older band, a bigger band, a band that is the crowd’s shared cult classic. Sometimes it can be taken as a compliment, that your music invokes memories that remind a crowd or a member of that crowd of music that they love. But most of the time it seems like a shortcut, an inexpensive excuse to explain a sound or feeling that you haven’t heard before. For a new band inspiration is almost impossible to escape. There’s always some artist that inspired you to do it for yourself, there’s always some genre you lean into more than others because it’s what you listen to more yourself, but is this an excuse to be labeled as a tribute act because of subtle comparison? 

It’s a frustrating phenomena, because no one would tell any young footballer that they’re copying Ronaldo, or tell an aspiring artist that they’re trying to be Picasso. So why is it that everyone that seems to lean into heavier indie music is told they’re copying Fontaines DC, or that any new whimsy inspired artist they’re stealing from Phoebe Bridgers? Sometimes it comes down to hype; there’s always a genre that’s more popular than others in underground scenes, with the current theme homing bands like Bleech 9:3 and Gurriers. That grungy, emotive pull that drags you to their sound is one that is on the rise but does that mean any and every distorted guitar sounds exactly like theirs? No. 

Influence has always played a part in music; inspiration from artists, inspiration from style and genre, inspiration from tone to technicalities will always mold an aspiring musician. However, saying a band is copying directly from other artists is more than usually entirely false. It’s an excuse that leads to defamation, and can really become a blow to newer artists. If you’re putting yourself on the forefront of publicity, by singing and performing songs that have taken time and mental strain only to be told that it’s been stolen from another artist, it’s not only a blow to your confidence but it can be felt as an embarrassment equally. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard bands and been able to immediately place where they’re inspiration is from but to label them as thieves is never fair. According to IMRO’s 2025 research, 64% of Irish gig-goers go to events habitually instead of seeing newer artists, so hearing similar bands is statistically some of the only ways a crowd will have incentive to attend, and music can be presented in ways that’s already understood.

As a community, Belfast has such strong up and coming artists and one of the greatest things about our scene is its diversity. We have bands from all backgrounds, age, genres and pasts that blend to make a scene as inclusive as possible. We have music for anyone and everyone so, by labeling many bands as cheap copies, we’re narrowing down our ability for our diversity to thrive. We’re unconscious taking opportunities before they’ve even presented themselves by ruining an artists sound before they’ve had the chance to figure it out fully for themselves. It takes time and money, effort and opportunity to be able to figure out what direction you want your music to go, so we need to stop with constantly putting people into boxes before they can build their own. 

10000+ songs are released on to Spotify every day. To present like we are homing bands in a vacuum is completely false, as there’s an ecosystem of music constantly awaiting. Mislabelling and accusatory blame on younger artists is going to start affecting the scene in more ways than one. With already depleting numbers of bands, we’re kicking them down before they’ve even learned to walk so next time you see a band that reminds you of an old foo fighters, or leans into the inspiration of some songs by Inhaler, instead of calling them thieves of sound, why don’t you stick with them to see what they’ve got to show. Let their sound flourish before you stomp all over the roots.