Indie music blogging: An examination of culture, fandom and community through online discourse

The Internet is becoming a primary source for cultural groups to socialize and communicate about a particular area of interest. Independent music blogs provide a space for disseminating cultural information regarding indie music and festival activities. This analysis uses Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the habitus to examine the content and fan interactions on independent music blogs over the course of a festival event. Blogs are explored as a field within which certain individuals interact and gain power through online discourse. Results of this study indicate that bloggers use exclusivity and discovery to gain status within the indie music blogging community. In addition, fandom and in-group versus out-group were common practices found in the blog and Twitter postings.