Open Reel is a publication built for the independent world, folk and jam music scene and for the small label ecosystem that releases and distributes it. The site walks through that scene section by section, from the folk and jam traditions that anchor it to the labels that put records in circulation and the touring circuit that carries them from stage to stage. Every page points back to the small label side of the business, where an independent artist can still press a record, find a distributor, and reach listeners without any major group standing between the two.

In the Folk section you find the singer-songwriter tradition rebuilt on the small label, with pages on popular folk songs, on the faith-based strand of Christian indie folk, and on the unplugged sound of acoustic indie folk. The Jam section explains what a jam band is, settles the question of whether Geese and Phish count, and looks at the recordings a new listener should start with. It also covers the fan scene that keeps the genre alive by recording the live sets, and follows the circuit where jam fans travel for multi night shows at sea and in the Virgin Islands.

The Labels section is the business spine of the site. It explains what an independent record label is, what independent music means in practice, and where the independent hip hop and Los Angeles based labels fit inside the wider scene. The Formats section closes the picture with the physical side: what a world music CD is, how a compilation like A Global Journey surveys the music of the world by region, and where the value sits for a collector weighing whether to buy or sell a disc.