In the past 20 years, the music scene has drastically changed–especially with the accessibility of information online. Since the introduction of platforms like Youtube, Soundcloud, Splice and Spotify, people have become more capable of learning how to write, produce, play instruments, and publish their own music–without attending a single class. This has led to a major increase in creators, and has even led to the creation of an entire genre. 

Bedroom-Pop is currently one of, if not the most popular music genre among teens today. One of the most popular bedroom-pop artists is Claire Cottrill, aka Clairo. She’s (unofficially) the face of the entire bedroom pop movement, and shares this genre label with artists such as boy pablo, Cuco, girl in red, mxmtoon, The Marías, and many others. Although most of these artists now record in a studio, they all started out writing, producing and releasing music from the comfort of their actual bedrooms. 

Bedroom-Pop often has sadder, more honest lyrics, and is often produced by younger artists. This draws in many teen fans who relate to the modern-day troubles that Bedroom-Pop artists tend to write about. The relatable quality of the lyrics draws in young fans from all over the world.

The predecessor to Bedroom Pop is known as Lo-Fi, and some people use both of those labels interchangeably. One of the first successful Lo-Fi artists was Daniel Johnston, whose music was majorly influential on the local music scene and popular culture here in Austin. He gained popularity after Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain wore the famous “Hi, How Are You?” T-shirt, and people began to show interest. Johnston passed away earlier this month. Although he’s gone, his influence on the music industry is more present now than ever before.

I’ve curated a Bedroom-Pop playlist on Spotify for you to listen to, which includes some bedroom-pop classics, some fresh new songs from popular bedroom-pop artists, and some of my own personal favorites from the genre. Enjoy!