After Farris left Columbia, she decided to quit major labels and do music completely her way in 2004 when she started her own record label, Free & Clear Records. “I don’t want any parts of the traditional experience of the music industry”, she said during an interview with PopMatters in 2009. “What I would like to do with Free and Clear records is help promote other artists who have talent but also put them up on game and make sure they know their business and know what the business is … and be fair about it.” The first artist Farris signed to the label was herself, and she released the company’s first album, Signs of Life, in 2004.