Indie Music Subreddit Bans ‘Anonymous’ Record Label Accounts

Independent music subreddit r/indieheads issues a ban on accounts run by record labels posing as regular users to promote artists on their roster.

An independent music community on Reddit, the subreddit r/indieheads, has announced that an internal investigation by the moderation team found a surge in accounts run by record labels posing as regular users. The accounts usually commented or posted only about artists on their own rosters without revealing their professional association.

“We’re not going to reveal who these labels are at this time,” a moderator wrote on Instagram. “But it was disappointing to find them engaging with our subreddit with a near-total lack of transparency (and it was disappointing for me personally finding out how long some of these accounts had been operating).”

Now, any “anonymous” account run by a label or someone affiliated with a label that posts predominantly about its own artists will be permanently banned. Record labels and distributors can post and comment on the subreddit as long as they are verified, either by Reddit’s existing alpha test for verified accounts, or through the subreddit’s moderation team.

Reddit started rolling out its own verified badges for news organizations, which began late last year. The r/indieheads moderators said they were given no advance notice about that program, but have allowed the majority of those accounts to post on the subreddit.

The subreddit’s moderation team says the change in policy is a move to keep discussion organic and keep companies from attempting to manipulate trends.

“There’s a reason why [marketing companies] are targeting platforms like TikTok over Reddit,” wrote an r/indieheads user. “Because you cannot easily manipulate trends here like you can there.”

The subreddit remains one of the largest online spaces for fans of alternative, independent, experimental, and underground music, and it has previously banned music made with generative AI. This latest move just furthers the moderation team’s fan-first approach to maintaining its community and keeping it “the best place for organic discussion for indie music on the internet.”