Gender - Predominantly male, although this is changing over time (e.g. Florence Welch).
Race - Predominantly Caucasian, although this too is changing (e.g. Kele Okereke).
Age - Usually teens and young adults, approximately aged 14 to 25.
Socio-economic status - There is no particular class, as the music is aimed at anyone, there is a wide audience.
Special interests - In this case, music or playing music instruments themselves.
The Indie audience is very much defined by the music itself. The old definition of 'being Indie' was to be Individual, however today it has become more of a stereotype, with it's own conventions and styles. For example, they are defined by what bands they listen to, what instruments they play and the clothing that they wear. Although the stereotype may not be accurate for every member of the Indie audience and differs based on gender, it is a good place to start and establishes a common foundation for the genre to build upon.
Focusing firstly on the audience as a whole, the stereotype conveys a huge amount of information that is extremely useful to those producing music videos. The Indie audience like to be different and not conform to the social norms, nor look like anyone else, individuality is key and music is their life;
• Music is preferred live and loud, whether it be at gigs or at festivals, a rather youthful scene. It is very much a niche audience. It is not merely listening to a band on the radio and appreciating them, but becoming a part of the stigma. If an Indie likes a band, they will have seen them live, own the albums, own the posters and wear the t-shirt. They become totally engrossed in their music.
• Almost every member of the Indie audience will play a musical instrument, most commonly either the acoustic or the electric guitar, although drum, bass and piano are not rare. Not only will they frequently play, most also write their own music and appear in their own indie bands, trying to get their break.
• Following on from the last point, it is Indie music magazines such as NME, which provide them with their break. Most members of the audience tend to find new music in such magazines and therefore read it weekly, almost religiously. Not only do the magazines feature information on bands, but also on new releases and upcoming gigs, everything an Indie needs.
• Once an artist has caught the Indie’s eye, it is a case of acquiring the music. As most Indie music is exactly that, individual, and not necessarily ‘famous’, most of the music can be found on www.myspace.com and often offers a free download. Other ways of acquiring the songs could be downloads from the bands site, or buying a single/album from the merchandise stand outside the gig.
These points form the foundations of what it is like to be Indie and what our target audience is all about. Although they are the main characteristics, it is also key to look at representation and this is where it splits into female representation and male representation of the Indie audience.
Female Representation
Most females within the Indie audience are influenced by female artists within their own genre. For example, this is Karen O from the band The Yeah Yeah Yeahs;
She is very much stereotypical indie, her hair conveys the ‘lego hair-cut fringe’ and her make-up the classic look adopted by most Indie females. Looking more so at the costume, here is a picture of Alexa Chung, television presenter and girlfriend of The Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner;
This is the stereotypical dress for an Indie girl, skinny jeans, feminine top, extravagant yet pretty jewellery and overall looking rather natural. We are very much influenced by what we see in the media, whether it be magazines, television or indeed the artists themselves and therefore it is common to see it copied. In this case, girls do copy but take it and make it their own in an individual way in order to stick to their own stereotype.
Male Representation
This also applies to the representation of males, they stick to the stereotypical dress which is hugely influenced by the artists themselves. For example, this is Alex Turner, as previously mentioned, the front man of The Arctic Monkeys;
This is typical dress for a male from the Indie Audience. Smartly dressed in skinny jeans, possibly winkle pickers or smart boots and a polo-shirt/jumper. The hair is mid length and swept over, and this is thus copied by most indie males. As most Indie artists are predominantly male, they are hugely influential with not only their music but their dress.
Overall, it is key to look at the Indie audience when considering our own music. The key word is individuality. We must appeal to their conventions and what they expect from an Indie music video. Also, by looking at the costume/dress through representation not only gives us costume ideas for our artist but also an idea of the Mise en Scene we could use throughout shooting. It also conveys that music in the Indie genre is incredibly influential, and therefore when planning our own music video, we will try to include influential factors into our production as well.
Linking back to the GRASS diagram shown at the beginning of this post, we will ensure when planning and producing our own music video to take into account each stage. For example, with the special interests including musical instruments, we will film performance shots and close ups of the guitars used in order to appeal to our target audience.
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