Rhiannon Aylward
Media Studies
Indie Scenesters are dedicated to finding the newest music, exploring all avenues to get there – online, print, record shops, club nights and word of mouth. Staying ahead of the curve is a must, but it’s borne out of a genuine love for music – and this is what separates them from those more fickle dabblers and dilettantes, the Hipsters. For Indie Scenesters, there’s nothing better than discovering new artists and spreading the love.
Guitar music has seen its cool usurped by the rise in electronic-synth based music in recent years, and Indie Scenesters have broadened their musical tastes as a result. It’s no longer just about indie rock bands like Vampire Weekend – Indie Scenesters have embraced experimental, genre-blending artists like Four Tet. Yet, the Indie Scenester approach remains the same – it’s about championing independent artists rather than a specific genre, especially before the masses get in on the act.
Boys and girls are rocking similar looks – skinny jeans, vintage and Converse/Vans. Their high street staples focus around the functional and unisex – Uniqlo, Cheap Mondays and American Apparel.
Hipsters are increasingly the most detested Tribe in the UK. Most likely to be used as a term of derision, Hipster is associated with lacking substance, arrogance, being unoriginal – and more often than not, with being a white middle-class uni student. Calling someone a Hipster may now be a mockery, but whichever way you cut it, the ‘Hipster look’ has definitely come to dominate the high street.
The Hipster look draws from punk rock and the 90s with a splatting of bygone subcultures for inspiration. From Soviet prison culture to Grunge, the Beatniks or ‘white trash’ chic – these disparate influences mean the Hipsters have driven millennial youth fashion trends more than any other Tribe. From skinny jeans to the vintage/retro revolution, acid bright colours to animal prints, Aztec print and dip-dye hair – Urban Outfitters brings off-the-shelf Hipster living to the Trendies. Hipsters popularised fixie bikes, grandma specs, made Lomography and Holga cameras a regular on teen Christmas lists – Red Stripe became the summer drink of choice, Ketamine the drug, and minimal tech the sound.
Tumblr Kids are an entry-level Leading Edge Tribe with lots of members under 16, and a female-bias. As the name suggests, Tumblr is at the heart of this Tribe. Like a digital scrapbook, it’s used to visually document their lives – every minute of the day…
Being a Tumblr Kid is about complete exposure. This means posting about the break ups and make ups. There really isn’t such a thing as too much information. You’re judged by how many followers you have, and Tumblr Kids will aggressively work to increase this number.
Style-wise, mixing it up is key – high street brands with vintage, and keeping things edgy. Tribe members are likely to move into other Leading Edge tribes in a few years. For girls, the look is studded mini skirts, cartoon sweaters and dip dye hair. For boys, it’s skater influenced cool. Think mini versions of east London Hipsters – snapbacks, beanies, rolled up skinny jeans and ‘geek’ glasses.
Young Alts are the Tribe for young people who ‘want out’ of the mainstream. It’s an entry-level Tribe, with equal split between the sexes, and members share an inquisitiveness for everything Alternative – from Grunge to Hardcore.
Experimenting with art, music and fashion unites the Young Alts, who are dipping in and out of scenes like there’s no tomorrow. Tribe members are likely to gravitate towards Leading Edge Tribes once they’ve figured out what they’re most interested in, but for the time being Young Alts are happy to get stuck into as much media as they can – from reading Penguin Classics on Kindle, streaming ‘Girls’ on Netflix (even the boys) and checking out the latest music on Spotify. Skater, Emo and Hipster trends are most commonly tried and tested by the Young Alts, it’s about keeping an open mind.
Individuality is key, and tribe members will experiment with looks that will make them stand out from the Townies and Trendies. Music-wise, Young Alts will listen to a wide range – from heritage bands like The Smiths, to Scene Kid favourites Bring Me The Horizon and even the occasional urban sounds like Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky.
Trendies are a burgeoning Tribe with no signs of abating – and they are getting younger by the day. The high street has exploded with brands like Urban Outfitters and Topshop offering off-the-peg Hipster-influenced styles, so channeling your inner Cara Delevingne or Harry Styles has never been so easy.
Trendies are motivated by the current trends du jour, looking to street style, celebrities and authoritative media brands for inspiration on music and fashion – in short, the latest in cool. It’s about tapping into what’s hot just before it hits the mainstream and picking it up online or on the high street, with key pieces nabbed from vintage, charity shops, or the ultimate Trendie pilgrimage – shopping on Brick Lane in London.
Fashion is the Trendies first love, but music is next in line – especially picking up the latest mixes online to flaunt on social media or their blog. Online representation is huge for this Tribe – Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and Mixcloud are the perfect platforms for showing off and being spotted. The meteoric rise of the style blogger, from 16 year old Tavi to Style Savage’s Steve Salter, has popularised Trendie icons in the media. These are everyday young people that have achieved the ultimate Trendie dream – transforming a love for fashion into lucrative careers, and gaining legions of followers in the process.
On these paragraphs I have taken from the UK Tribes website, I have highlighted key features that relate directly to my target audience. I have done this to try and discover what particular group my target audience belong to, if they belong to any at all.
After researching different categories on UK Tribes I have come to the conclusion that those who enjoy listening to Indie Rock music do not belong to any particular category. It seems to be that numerous groups seem to like either clothing or music type related to the Indie Rock genre. This means that those who listen to Indie Rock can be of any general group. This may be because Indie Rock musicians are very individualistic and therefore their music can vary immensely. This means some music may be relatively similar to other genres of music which may include people from different groups.
According to UK Tribes:
UK Tribes
