FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Friday, January 06, 2006

Are You a "Yupster"?

You are if you're, shall we say, older than a teenager and like edgy music from independent bands. Yupsters (yuppie hipsters) are turning on to indie music with the help of -- what else? -- the Internet and music download sites, which make tracks from unsigned bands and once-obscure labels as easy to find as anything in the Top 40. Easy access to music from "small" bands is something yupsters appreciate, as many of them are old enough to remember plowing through bins at hole-in-the-wall record stores and flea markets.

As a result of its growing audience, independent music is showing up more frequently in mainstream media, as part of the soundtrack to an episode of NBC's comedy series The Office, for example. Major advertisers are also scrambling to buy ad space on the increasingly popular indie music download sites such as Pitchfork.

Source: Newsweek