Microgenre
In 1975, a French article about historical fiction introduced the word microgenre to describe a narrowly defined group of texts connected in time and space. The author contrasted this with macrogenres, which were more diffuse and harder to generalize about. This concept appeared in various critical works throughout the 1980s and 1990s before gaining traction in music circles. Writers used these labels to define new styles by linking together seemingly disparate artists. The term originally described specific stylistic offshoots within prominent genres like heavy metal or electronic music.
Record collectors and dealers began applying labels retroactively to increase the perceived value of rare recordings during the early 1970s. Music journalist Simon Reynolds identified Northern soul and garage punk as examples of genre-as-retroactive-fiction that did not become widespread until years after their creation. Phil Smee coined the term freakbeat in the 1980s while sunshine pop emerged as a label in the 1990s. Robert Christgau invented the word pigfuck in the early 1980s to describe Sonic Youth's music, though it later evolved into a specific style of noise rock. Melody Maker journalists took this practice further in the mid-1990s by creating fictional bands to justify an updated New Romantic scene they called Romantic Modernism.
Chillwave appeared around 2009 when an ironic music blog named Hipster Runoff created the term as an internet meme. This label gained mainstream currency in early 2010 through articles published by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Journalist Emilie Friedlander wrote in 2019 that chillwave launched a hundred other internet electronic microgenres including vaporwave, witch house, seapunk, and shitgaze. The speed at which these styles achieved recognition accelerated substantially due to software advances and faster internet connections. By the early 2010s, most microgenres were linked and defined through various outlets on the internet rather than physical record stores or radio stations.
Glenn McDonald developed genre mapping data while working for the music intelligence firm Echo Nest before Spotify acquired the company in 2016. He created the Every Noise at Once website to document and categorize internet-based music microgenres starting in 2013. In August 2019, his metadata contributed to the curation of the influential Hyperpop playlist led by Lizzie Szabo on Spotify. McDonald had added the term hyperpop to the platform's algorithm in 2018 after drawing from his own database. These systems now power features like Daily Mix and Fans also like recommendation functions used by millions of listeners daily.
Llewellyn Hinkes Johns referenced the cycle involving chillwave, glo-fi, and hypnagogic pop as a prime example of categories that are quickly and brazenly denounced sometimes within the same article. Dave Schilling described the chillwave designation as a pivotal moment revealing how arbitrary and meaningless labels can be since it was not actually a scene but a parody of one. Thomas Britt argued that the staggering number of niches created by writers is ultimately binding if bands tailor themselves to these categories. Netflix identified 76,897 different microgenres in its algorithms during 2020 to develop successful series like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. The line between real genres that sound fake and fake genres that could be real remains thin according to Pitchforks Jonny Coleman.
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Common questions
When was the word microgenre first introduced in a French article about historical fiction?
The word microgenre was introduced in 1975 within a French article about historical fiction. This text described a narrowly defined group of texts connected in time and space.
Who coined the term freakbeat during the 1980s music scene?
Phil Smee coined the term freakbeat in the 1980s while sunshine pop emerged as a label in the 1990s. These labels were applied retroactively to increase the perceived value of rare recordings.
Which blog created the term chillwave around 2009 as an internet meme?
An ironic music blog named Hipster Runoff created the term chillwave around 2009. Journalist Emilie Friedlander wrote in 2019 that this launch started over one hundred other internet electronic microgenres including vaporwave, witch house, seapunk, and shitgaze.
What year did Glenn McDonald create the Every Noise at Once website to document microgenres?
Glenn McDonald created the Every Noise at Once website starting in 2013 to document and categorize internet-based music microgenres. He had added the term hyperpop to Spotify's algorithm in 2018 before his company was acquired by Spotify in 2016.
How many different microgenres did Netflix identify in its algorithms during 2020?
Netflix identified 76,897 different microgenres in its algorithms during 2020 to develop successful series like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. This data helped define categories that bands tailor themselves to according to Thomas Britt.