Well, apart from pouring cash into the coffers of Song, by Toad Records by the millions, here are two excellent ways to do it:

Firstly, Kevin from mp3hugger.com has an enterprise called Indiecater which puts together a compilation album consisting entirely of songs by independent artists. I haven’t heard of any of the bands, which suprises me a little (must try harder!) but then I suppose that’s the point, really. There’s a free sample song from a band called Cymbals Eat Guitars, called Share, what else, that is rather good. Given the mention of percussion and string instruments it’s actually the brass that steals the show on this song, about a quarter of the way through.

The whole compilation is going for 4.50 Euros from here, which is about £3 I think, so it’s really cheap and something of a moral obligation for those of us that claim to want to support the little guys. Given Kevin’s track record with bands, I would imagine it will make a bloody good listen anyway, so off you go and buy one.

Cymbals Eat Guitar – Share

The other thing you can do to make your contribution is take part in this: Independents Day Auction. Various independent music associations are getting together to run an eBay auction, which ends this Sunday 6th July here in the UK, so get going. They are auctioning off all sorts of exclusive memorabilia and collectors items, as well as a top item of a couple of days spent working with a top local producer in either LA or New York, so there should be plenty for you to get stuck into. Should that not be your bag, you can still get stuck in by buying the pictured sampler CD from Amazon.

If none of this appeals to you, well… surely not though, eh? I mean surely one of the reasons any of you read this site is because supporting independent music is something you feel strongly about, in which case, instead of just nattering about music to friends in pubs, now is your chance to actually do something about it. Go on, get on with it.