Indie-Pop Research

Indie pop (also known as twee pop or twee music in the United States) is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid eighties, The Smiths. Unlike Indie rock, Indie pop is more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free.

While the term indie had been used for some time to describe artists on independent labels (and the labels themselves), the key moment in the naming of the genre was the release of NME's C86 tape in 1986. Although featuring a wide range of bands, including Primal Scream, Bogshed, Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present, it over time became shorthand for a genre known by a variety of terms. Initially it was dubbed C86 (after the tape itself), the more ambiguous indie pop, Cutie or a term coined by John Peel: shambling bands. Retrospectively, especially in the United States,the terms twee and twee pop were used, initially ironically, due to what commentators called the "revolt into childhood" of its followers.

Here are some Images i have collected, which i feel represent or show influence of Indie-Pop.

Again, here i have collected more images from research online. These images are all from existing magazines, which are all successful within the Indie-Pop genre. This therefore would be what should be influencing my decisions most, and giving me the most idea's to work with. It also would essentially be my magazine, as a product's, competition, therefore i need to ensure not only is my product similar in that it also portrays the style of Indie-Pop, but better in some way including a unique and original thing to make the target audience choose my magazine over theirs.

Looking at the images chosen they all show a similar theme within the magazines. This is the simplistic look with little overcrowding text, strong statement photography with emphasis on the models eyes always showing intensity. White font is also something that is apparent within all of the images. The images also show the same sort of edited effect of dimming the image and colours. They also show a quirky sort of theme, yet still powerful and effective. Showing how influential the style is and how the appearance of the magazine and the models is crucial. This all will be considered and manipulated into my own work, to fully represent the genre as a life style, fashion choice, and musical interest.
After researching this genre in more depth, i am confident with my decision. I feel it is a good opportunity to manipulate the hybrid between Indie and Pop blending the two to base it around such artists eg Ellie Goulding, Oasis, Florence and The Machine, Jason Mraz and The Kooks etc. It also gives the unconventional genre, a bigger target market therefore aiming at both Indie and Pop audience’s. Also, still being a fairly newish genre within the magazine industry giving an advantage and decrease in competition with other existing products again increasing chances of larger sales. I am also confident in that i can create a product that could easily compete alongside Indie-Pop magazines such as 'INDIE'.