Popular music in the youth culture of Hong Kong: the social functions of indie music

PurposeThe key concepts to be explored in this article include the blurring boundary between “indie” and “pop”; the significance of digital media in contemporary music industry and the distinctive socio-political nature of indie music in Hong Kong. To a large extent, it discusses the social function...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian education and development studies 2021-09, Vol.10 (4), p.493-503
Main Author: Stella Sai-Chun Lau
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetic Education
Bands
Creativity
Decades
Mass Media
Music industry
Musical performances
Musicians
Musicians & conductors
Peer Acceptance
Political Issues
Popular music
Popularity
Record labels
Secondary Education
Singers
Singing
Youth culture
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Summary:PurposeThe key concepts to be explored in this article include the blurring boundary between “indie” and “pop”; the significance of digital media in contemporary music industry and the distinctive socio-political nature of indie music in Hong Kong. To a large extent, it discusses the social functions of music – a subject discussed by Simon Frith (2007), a leading scholar in popular music studies.Design/methodology/approachIn order to expound on some observations of the connections between music cultures and socio-political development in Hong Kong, a selection of musical works by indie musicians will be looked into closely.FindingsA focus of discussion will be given to the difference between mainstream Cantopop and indie music in a way that the latter mentions socio-political matters overtly while the former downplays sensitive political issues, particularly in the post-colonial era after the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China in 1997.Originality/valueOriginality of research can be evidenced by the author's textual analysis of the musical styles and lyrics produced by various local indie artists' musical works through primary sources.
ISSN:2046-3162
2046-3170
DOI:10.1108/AEDS-07-2020-0172