I was looking at my blog and realized that I never actually explained what a micro genre is or why it exists. I decided to take a more academic approach to this post and try to explain some of it.
Consumerism is defined by Merriam-Webster as an economic theory that states that the increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable as well as the promotion of the consumer’s interests.
This concept is prevalent in our economic society and the music marketing industry. When looking at the music industry through this lens, genres serve as more of a marketing tool rather than something that actually defines music.
The classification of genres tell labels who to market and promote their music to. Due to this, niche microgenres have emerged that often correspond with aesthetics trending on the internet. This has led to a cycle of microgenres emerging and “dying” in quick fashion.
Microgenres such as chillwave or glitchcore gained popularity on the internet not only due to the music, but the entire aesthetic around it. A common viewpoint among younger generations is the need to be perceived as unique.
Due to social media platforms such as Tumblr or TikTok, niche aesthetics or styles get trendy for a short amount of time and influence consumers’ purchases.
In the mid 2010’s the popular “art hoe” style was categorized as someone who listens to Clairo, Cuco, and Tyler the Creator as well as someone who wears mom jeans and Fjallraven backpacks.
These niche aesthetics often come with their own genres of music that tie into the identity that the aesthetic is trying to portray.
When consumers tie music to their aesthetic and identity, not only do they buy the music associated with that identity, but they also buy clothes, accessories and decorations.
Genres have been used to categorize music, books, and other forms of art for centuries now. With typical genres like hip hop and country, it can be easy to sonically tell the difference between the two.
However, with microgenres this can be a harder task. With the rise of streaming, consumers have an infinite amount of music available to them at any given time.
If you look on Spotify, you can find obscure genres such as bubble trance, lowercase, or nerdcore. What does that even mean?
These genres are often created purely for the consumer. There isn’t a need for certain microgenres to exist or have a name outside of marketing and media consumption purposes.
These genres often leave people confused and grasping to understand what they mean. You can find genres on Spotify for tons of random nouns and verbs such as “glitter bomb, serotonin, or idk”
Or the infamous pov: indie that appeared on our Spotify Wrapped. Still not sure how that’s different from indie or even bedroom pop.
Not ALL micro genres are this pointless though. Take my last post with cloud rap. Is that more of a real genre than “nerd core”? Probably.
But is Spaceghostpurrp really any different from southern 2000’s hip or Three 6 Mafia? No, not really.
All in all micro genres exist as marketing tools just as regular genres once did but the internet has kinda taken things to the next level.
These genres are just another tool of self expression and the intense need to be something different.