Performative elitism: acting intellectually or culturally superior to others not because they actually are but to gain status or admiration. This is precisely the term to describe the people who swear by their niche or underground music taste.
It’s annoying, honestly, and feel free to call me a hater (mind you, this is my opinion editorial), but people who swear to their musical superiority are so performative. They pretend their taste in music is a big part of their personality and that somehow listening to a song with under 3,000 streams gives them more depth than the rest of us.
God forbid you listen to popular artists because suddenly you’re basic. It’s not like those artists are popular for being good musicians and making good music right?
It’s not even about the music anymore; it’s all an act. Going to shows just to post grainy film pictures, judging others for discovering an artist only after they became big, and acting like enjoying a popular song is some kind of moral failure. A quick tip: If you want to seem cool for your music taste, don’t brag about it.
Also, these are the same people who act offended when their favorite artists become mainstream; if they’re really your favorite artists, wouldn’t you want them to succeed?
Personally, I listen to everything (except maybe country) from small artists like Lyn Lapid and Joy Crookes to artists like Billie Eilish, Kehlani and 21 Savage, and honestly I just like what I like. It’s not a big part of my personality, I don’t brag about it to gain external validation from people, and that’s how it should be.
At the end of the day, these people end up all doing the same thing: chasing obscurity just to seem “cool” and “edgy” and keep the illusion that they’re above everything. Here’s the thing, though: the artists creating music want to be seen and heard. Music is supposed to be shared; it’s supposed to make you feel something, not for you to “gatekeep.”
