Draft:Internet music
| Internet music | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1990s-2000s, Internet communities and social media platforms such as Myspace, Datpiff and SoundCloud |
| Subgenres | |
| Other topics | |
Internet music (also known as online music) refers to musical styles, subcultures, and distribution practices that originated from or were significantly shaped by the Internet, as well as encompassing a wide range of genres and music scenes that have developed primarily online, often outside traditional music industry structures. In the early 21st century, many online music styles emerged as microgenres frequently tied to specific internet aesthetics.
Originating out of the early wider blogosphere in the 2000s, online music scenes like blog rock, blog rap and bloghouse were instrumental in the initial proliferation of internet-based music genres, followed by the emergence of early social media platforms such as MySpace, as well as mixtape-sharing site DatPiff who helped provide early forms of independent online musical distribution, later followed by SoundCloud, YouTube, and TikTok.
Notable internet music microgenres include vaporwave, witch house, cloud rap, nightcore, chillwave and hyperpop.[1]
History
[edit]1980s–1990s
[edit]Tracker music
[edit]The history of internet music traces back to the late 1980s to early 1990s, beginning with the rise of tracker music, a form of digital audio files made on music trackers and shared online through early internet communities like Usenet.[2][3] Tracker scenes helped establish norms around open sharing and online collaboration that would later shape broader internet music trends. Many tracker musicians gained international prominence within MOD software users and some of them went on to work for high-profile video game studios, or began to appear on large record labels.[4][5][6][7]
2000s
[edit]Blog era
[edit]By the early 2000s, the growing prominence of the internet saw the emergence of music proliferated through the early online blogosphere, characterized by genres and scenes such as bloghouse, blog rock, and blog rap. These styles were heavily circulated through the Millennial blogosphere and music forums, with sites like MySpace playing a critical role in promoting artists and shaping early internet-based scenes, were microgenres and scenes like MySpace metalcore emerged. Mixtape-sharing platforms like DatPiff also became hubs for early internet rap scenes including the blog rap movement. Shitgaze would go on to be the earliest internet rock microgenre to be coined online.[8][9]
2010s
[edit]The 2010s marked a new wave of internet-native microgenres and aesthetic-based scenes. On platforms such as Tumblr, styles like seapunk emerged similarly to chillwave, initially as a meme, but later developing a recognizable musical style. This period saw a proliferation of niche genres like vaporwave and witch house each tied closely to specific visual aesthetics and online communities.
Internet-borne microgenres such as egg punk also began to circulate online.
2020s
[edit]In the early 2020s, hyperpop was popularized as an influential leading genre in the online music space.
In 2024, Rolling Stone described the online underground rap scene as "extremely online," which included acts such as Nettspend, Osamason, ian, Xaviersobased, Yeat, Summrs, Rich Amiri, Tana, Autumn!, and Lazer Dim 700.[10][11] These artists often find success online through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.[12]
Related genres
[edit]Hypnagogic pop
[edit]Hypnagogic pop is a style of psychedelic music coined by journalist David Keenan in an August 2009 issue of the Wire to label the developing trend, which he characterized as "pop music refracted through the memory of a memory."[13] It was used interchangeably with internet microgenres like "chillwave" or "glo-fi" and gained critical attention through artists such as Ariel Pink and James Ferraro.[14]
See also
[edit]- Internet aesthetics
- Post-Internet
- -core
- Millennials
- Generation Z
- 21st century music
- Generation Alpha
- Postmodern music
- Metamodernism
References
[edit]- ^ "THE FACE's guide to the American rap underground". The Face. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ Karen Collins (12 May 2008). From Pac-Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media (Kindle ed.). Ashgate Publishing. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-754-66200-6. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Kopfstein, Janus (10 April 2012). "A brief video history of the demoscene in memory of Commodore boss Jack Tramiel". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "Trackers: The Rise, Bloom and Later Developments of a Paradigm" (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ "A Guide to Trackers". Sonicstate. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ Jonespublished, Andy (2023-12-15). "Trackers, video games, soldering irons and bitter rivalries: 5 reasons why the '80s was the ultimate decade for computer music-making". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ Adam Douglas (2025-05-28). ""It's unfamiliar, intimidating, and seemingly impenetrable for producers raised on DAWs like Ableton Live - but it can unlock a whole new world of creativity": I tried a music tracker and it rewired my brain (in a good way)". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ Marcus, Ezra (2017-05-12). "Wave Music Is a Marketing Tactic, Not a Microgenre". VICE. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ Friedlander, Emilie (2019-08-21). "Chillwave: a momentary microgenre that ushered in the age of nostalgia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ Lindert, Hattie (2024-03-14). "The Future of Underground Rap Is Extremely Online". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
- ^ Cartter, Eileen (2025-03-21). "Nettspend Grows Up". GQ. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "Yeat: Lyfë". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Sherburne, Philip (May 22, 2012). "Last Step: Going to Sleep to Make Music to Sleep To". Spin Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ Hinkes-Jones, Llewellyn (15 July 2010). "Downtempo Pop: When Good Music Gets a Bad Name". The Atlantic.