Page 38 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2018 Issue

Defying category doesn’t usually lend itself to success in the music industry. This is part of Snarky Puppy’s
unique indie upbringing. Their success swelled thanks to popularity of their recordings on YouTube. In their
10 albums since 2006, most had a visual component with a very excellent quality multi-camera video
production of the recording. There are even small audiences mixed in with the band and seemingly these
were all done in one take. This viral spread of their popularity seemed to gain momentum after the release
of “Ground Up” in 2012, which has spawned some of their most popular videos. A year later at a show League
said something along the lines of “We have albums for sale, but you probably will just watch us on YouTube
anyway.” Luckily, this sharing of free music and video helped the band rather than deny them, allowing them
to have successful tours each time they entered a new continent.