Anti-Pop and Performativity

How do musicians use past media technologies and instrumentation to reject mainstream taste in an effort to maintain alternative branding?

I am Antipop; I'll run against the grain till

the day I drop. I am the Antipop; the man

you cannot stop.

As a young man, I plug into the tube, but

the stench of all that pretense I cannot

muddle through.

I lay on my back and scan the radio all

that comes out my speakers is a steady

syrup flow.

Lyrics from The Antipop by Primus (1999)

As seen in Primus’s (1999) “The Antipop”, pop music can be interpreted by certain audiences as “steady syrup flow”, overly produced, predictable and; pretense to muddle through, negative meanings often enforced by societal standards, e.g. sexism. These views portray pop music to be a negative, mainstream, ideological industry which should be rebelled against. Over the past twenty years, pop music has faced significant critique, including allegations of exploitation, poor working conditions, and an unintentional place for reinforcing hegemonic ideology. In response to these critiques many subcultural music groups who maintain an anti-establishment viewpoint have begun to reject pop music. Genres such as punk, goth and indie music were born through the rejection of mainstream capitalism, and each have a distinct sound which has been recreated and renewed over time. 

Recent technological advances, including the commercialisation of subcultures and the over-saturation of our digital landscape, have caused micro-trends to be popularised. In effect, this has diluted the meaning of genres of music due to the overt importance of “aesthetic” over experience. To signify their rejection of these changes, current generations of musicians may utilise unique techniques to draw inspiration from past musical genres. This includes the reuse of past media technologies, including CD’s, vinyl and cassettes, as well as instrumentation such as synthesisers, vintage guitar amps and analogue recording techniques. These strategies may serve to maintain the original meanings ingrained in past alternative music genres, and recontextualise those meanings into modern society. In doing so, the utilisation of these techniques acts as upkeep for the intended musical ideas: to push boundaries and reject cultural normativity. 

Rejection of the mainstream

Rejection of the mainstream is prevalent among alternative music genres. Our choices, from what music we engage with, who we choose to associate ourselves with and what genres we define ourselves as being a part of, can be understood as our musical identity. However; social identity is not necessarily an inherent inner existence. According to Kruse (1993, p. 34), “Senses of shared identity are alliances formed out of oppositional stances.” Kruse (1993) states that music scenes can be constructed through shared taste, and essentially, the way in which we reject other genres. Outside of a music context, we can understand this to mean that our shared interests are defined by who we are not. This, alongside the sometimes predatory nature of mainstream music practices, may lead to further ostracisation of pop music. 

Hegemony and commercialisation of pop music

Major record labels, an inherent aspect of popular music, often ignore the creative freedom of artists and use commercial capitalist techniques to gain monetary success (Drijver & Hitters, 2017). Musicians have famously rejected commercial music practices, including The Clash who protested the “complete control” their managers had over the band, (McDowell, 2024), and Chappell Roan who famously described the exploitation and poor work conditions of being signed to a record label (Roan, 2025). Furthermore, pop music can be used as a means to uphold hegemonic ideologies. Popular music is used as a widespread form of entertainment and relaxation which also serves to spread the ideologies of “consumerism and the reproduction of labour power” (Garofalo, 1987, p. 88-89). This means that pop music is often unintentionally used to reinforce unified meanings in society, through a popular entertainment form that people associate with leisure. This positions pop music as a form of entertainment which is heavily corporatised and may alienate anti-establishment listeners. Alongside the rejection of the corporatisation of the music industry, rejection of pop music also means the rejection of normalising mainstream, often problematic, ideologies.

Subcultural capital and musical branding

Shared interests, which define specific music scenes, can be utilised to create subcultural capital among musicians. Subcultural capital can be understood through the perception of authenticity and distance from mainstream culture, it is categorised between those who have high status among a subcultural group, and those who have low status (Moore, 2006, p. 232). Having high subcultural capital would be incredibly important for musicians in any given genre. This is because of the importance of branding yourself as a relatable, authentic presence among fan spaces (Rodríguez Puente de la Vega & Guillén Arruda, 2024, p. 552). It should be noted that musicians, alongside record labels, magazines, festivals, and radio can become cultural tastemakers, who are influential decision makers among underground scenes (Barna, 2018, p. 261-262). To some extent, musicians inherently have high status among a music scene, and may already have a significant amount of cultural capital. However; in the process of establishing authenticity, musicians must position themselves as being a part of the subcultural group. Therefore, to fit in with the shared identity, they must distance themselves from whichever mainstream has become inherent in the oppositional identity of a genre. Essentially, if a genre defines itself as being anti-pop, musicians attempting to be successful must brand themselves to align with this oppositional ideology. They must perform their authenticity for the audience.

Commercialisation of the subculture

In recent years, subcultural practices in alternative genres of music have been co-opted by large corporations. Fashion choices, which are a large aspect of subcultural identity, can be viewed as “anti-fashion”, rejecting what is deemed fashionable. According to Steele (1997, p.285), the visual aesthetic of inherently political subcultural fashion choices are often co-opted into mainstream trends. She goes on to describe that although the meaning of a fashion choice may be distorted once it is commercialised, it does not always remove the intended messaging. Although the original meaning can prevail, when music is commercialised subcultural groups often feel “alienated", facing a “loss of identity because their sense of themselves depends on an opposition to the mainstream” (Moore, 2006, p. 233). Therefore, current musicians must look beyond utilising standard alternative imagery and sounds in their branding, as they will not effectively represent anti-mainstream messaging. They must embrace imperfection and underutilised, niche knowledge of the genre to signal their authentic association with an oppositional shared identity. 

Resurgence of media technology and the rejection of digital culture

The resurgence of analogue media consumables, such as CD’s, vinyl and cassettes have been evident in recent years. According to Rauch (2015, p. 573), users of analogue media believe that digital media is pushed by business executives, obsoleting old technology based on business considerations rather than social needs. Furthermore artists and fans consider vinyl to be “a marker of integrity that opposes the commodification of music” (Rauch, 2015, p. 575). Analogue media such as CD’s, vinyl and cassettes have been recontextualised to signify rebellion against corporate music prerogatives which are utilised to achieve commercial success among the popularised music industry.

In musicians, the technical aspects of music production become an artistic choice, where the use of analogue technology is aesthetically significant (Barlindhaug, 2007, p. 76). In essence, media choices play a significant part in the branding of an artist's musical identity. Furthermore, over time the use of digital musical production techniques have normalised what popular music should sound like (Barlindhaug, 2007, p. 77). Listeners can expect a specific ‘sound’ in pop music which is often overly produced, utilising newer digital technologies. This positions the aesthetic choice of analogue mixing techniques as being inherently different to the popular music ‘sound’. In the context of oppositional identity, it establishes analogue techniques as being anti-pop, as it is inherently opposite to what pop music should sound like.

Limitations

In understanding how musicians brand themselves to subcultural audiences, it is important to understand that performativity is an inherent part of human nature, it is ingrained in the act of being (Introna, 2013, p. 336). Through the act of engaging with other people, the world, objects around us, we perform existence. Therefore, performativity is not inherently good or bad, it is how we engage with the world surrounding us. This leads to questions surrounding authenticity, if everything is a performance, then who are we truly? The increased pressures of personal branding within the music industry, mean that as musicians we have a much more intentional practice of performance. We are strategically and actively thinking about how we are perceived, whereas in the non-musician this may be done without a specific goal or desired outcome.

Furthermore, this essay positions pop music as being exploitative, inauthentic and commercialised. The antagonisation of the pop music industry is largely due to anti-establishment movements which associate specific genres to the commercialism in the music industry. It is also important to consider that the music industry is not only composed of corporations, but of individuals. The way in which musicians, particularly pop musicians, engage with the industry is what defines it. Movements for better work conditions and increased independence have begun within this industry, as seen in Chappell Roan’s 2025 Grammy’s acceptance speech (Roan, 2025).

Why does this matter?

In recent growth of AI practices within the creative arts, including the release of AI music and AI generated content on social media platforms, authenticity and intentional aesthetic choices become more valuable. Musicians must find a way to signal to audiences that they are real, and perhaps flawed in some way. Digital media may continue to be antagonised, in which case analogue media will become an increasingly important technique to portray authenticity and signify high cultural capital.

Although performance is inherent in the everyday, audiences may view performativity to be inauthentic. It is important that in musicians’ personal branding efforts, they continue to showcase knowledge of the genres they work within, as well as niche subcultural tastes which align closely with audiences. Essentially, musicians must perform anti-performativity. It inspires the question, does branding work and should we even try to fit into a musical box if everything comes across inauthentic? The question lies with each individual musician. Perhaps, being anti-performance will become the new anti-pop.

References

Barlindhaug, G. (2007). Analog sound in the age of digital tools. The story of the failure of digital technology. In R. Skare, N. Windfeld Lund, & A. Vårheim (Eds), A Document (Re)turn. Contributions from a Research Field in Transition (pp. 76–77). Peter Lang Publishing Group. https://nva.sikt.no/registration/0198f5156462-3d4e22e5-0490-4563-8bc2-d5b5ac9d0a63 

Barna, E. (2018). Curators as Taste Entrepreneurs in the Digital Music Industries. In E. Mazierska, L. Gillon, & T. Rigg (Eds), Popular Music in the Post-Digital Age: Politics, Economy, Culture and Technology (pp. 261–262). Bloomsbury Publishing USA. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9998DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA253&dq=tastemakers+subcultural+capital&ots=sPsy7Wr7AF&sig=2kBi90DDYfgzeGxhsglL_31kRb0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false 

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Kruse, H. (1993). Subcultural identity in alternative music culture. Popular Music, 12(1), 33–41. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S026114300000533X

McDowell, J. (2024, May 22). You can’t spell control without C-O-N: The story behind ‘complete control’ by the clash. American Songwriter. https://americansongwriter.com/you-cant-spell-control-without-c-o-n-the-story-behind-complete-control-by-the-clash/ 

Moore, R. (2006). Alternative to what? Subcultural capital and the commercialization of a music scene. Deviant Behavior, 26(3), 229–252. Taylor & Francis Online. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620590905618 

Primus. (1999). The Antipop [CD]. On Youtube. Prawn Song Records, Interscope Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SkKi3m-HTA 

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Roan, C. (2025, February 2). Best New Artist Award Acceptance Speech. In Youtube [Online Video]. 67Th Annual Grammy Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx86h_KXk48 

Rodríguez Puente de la Vega, A. N., & Guillén Arruda, C. A. (2024). Personal branding in the music industry to achieve internationalization. Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities, 28, 550–563.  https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-596-6_48 

Steele, V. (1997). Anti-Fashion: The 1970s. Fashion Theory, 1(3), 279–295. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2752/1362704977779640134