How do you think the industry has responded to independent artists (like Ani DiFranco)?
AH: Funny you should ask, Ani is one of my inspirations – not only because she stands for true independence and has never compromised her art or herself in any way that I know, but also because she has the goods and the attitude to back up her fierce independence. The day I received the Spin magazine in the mail with her on the cover I started to cry. It stood for something that was unbelievable – that you can play by your own rules and you can and will succeed. In that piece, the interviewer asked her why she never signed to a major label or sold her record company and she said (I am paraphrasing) It took me 6 years to build my house and my house isn’t for sale. I think the industry has fought her every step of the way and she only got as far as she did by persevering and by working extremely hard. I think now many people in the industry are in awe of what she has accomplished through insurmountable odds and I am so happy that she continues to stick to her guns. I think in theory the
