Indie Fans Are the Most Open-Minded Listeners? This Study Says Yes.
I came across a wildly interesting study out of McMaster University, and I don’t know if it’s the caffeine in me or what, but I have some thoughts.
Researchers at McMaster’s Digital Music Lab analyzed over a billion (yes, billion with a ‘b’) song downloads and ranked different music listeners by how open-minded they are—meaning, how likely they are to listen outside of their core genre.
“Indie music fans are the most open-minded listeners out there.”
This caught my eye. Indie ranked first in musical openness. Pop ranked last.
But what does that actually mean? Why does indie sit at the top? Why does pop sit at the bottom? And, more importantly, what does this say about how we experience music?
So, let’s break it down.
What the Study Found—And Why It’s Interesting
Indie Fans Explore the Widest Range of Music
The study measured "exclusivity"—basically, how likely a listener is to venture outside their genre. Indie listeners ranked the highest, followed by jazz, folk, and classical & country.
Here’s the ranking from most open-minded to least open-minded:
1️⃣ Indie
2️⃣ Jazz
3️⃣ Folk
4️⃣ Country
5️⃣ Classical
6️⃣ Rock
7️⃣ Metal
8️⃣ Rap
9️⃣ Dance
🔟 Pop
"Some genres are very exclusive. That says something about the type of person who likes that type of music."
This makes total sense. Indie music has never been just one thing—it borrows from everywhere. If you listen to indie, you’re probably also into folk, classical, psych, electronic, post-punk, or jazz. Indie thrives on experimentation.
But this raises an interesting thought:
If indie listeners are the most open to new sounds, are they also the most open to new experiences in general?
If a city wants to attract creative, curious people, maybe it should be asking:
🔹 Where are the indie fans gathering?
🔹 What kinds of spaces are they shaping?
🔹 How do we support the people who are actively shaping culture—not just consuming it?
Because these are the very people keeping live music alive.
Pop Listeners Are the Least Likely to Branch Out
On the other end of the spectrum, pop listeners ranked as the most exclusive—sticking mostly to mainstream, mass-market music.
"Pop fans are much less likely to branch out in their listening habits. They tend to stick to familiar, mass-market music and are less likely to engage with niche genres."
This isn’t a knock on pop—it just speaks to how pop functions.
Pop is engineered for immediacy and familiarity. It’s catchy, digestible, and designed for broad appeal.
So maybe it’s not that pop fans refuse to branch out—it’s that pop music creates a world that doesn’t require them to.
But here’s the interesting part:
While pop listeners mostly stay within their bubble, indie music consistently feeds ideas into pop culture.
🎶 Folk elements in pop? Indie folk bands were already doing it.
🎶 A throwback soul revival? Indie soul had been thriving for years.
🎶 Lo-fi, bedroom-recorded aesthetics in mainstream music? Indie DIY artists perfected that long ago.
Indie music isn’t just a genre—it’s a cultural test lab. It experiments first. The mainstream catches up later.
Jazz and Classical Listeners Have the Strongest Crossover
"Jazz and classical listeners had the strongest crossover interest in each other’s genres."
This makes sense. Jazz and classical reward deep listening. They’re about patience, nuance, and detail.
This also explains something about why Off The Air works.
Indie music, like jazz and classical, isn’t always about instant gratification. It’s about discovery.
You might walk into a show not knowing what to expect—and that’s exactly the point.
It’s about showing up, staying curious, and letting the music take you somewhere unexpected.
And that’s the kind of energy that makes a city’s cultural scene strong.
Some Genres Have “One-Sided Love Affairs”
"Some genres share mutual appreciation, but others have asymmetrical relationships. Example: Country listeners tend to like pop, but pop fans don’t listen to country in the same way."
This might explain why indie music is so good at fostering music discovery.
Indie doesn’t just pull from one place—it’s constantly borrowing, blending, and reshaping sounds.
And yet, time and time again, we see the mainstream pull from indie without always sending listeners back to the source.
Which makes me wonder—how much music discovery are we losing to algorithms?
If indie fans are naturally inclined to explore, but platforms keep funneling listeners into mass-appeal playlists, what happens to the deep cuts?
That’s why live music still matters.
Because the best way to keep an open mind? Show up.
What This Means for Cities Like Modesto
This study isn’t just about music taste—it’s about what kind of people drive creative communities.
If indie fans are naturally open-minded, engaged, and curious, then any city that wants to retain creative people should be asking:
🔹 Where do indie fans gather?
🔹 How do we support the spaces they’re creating?
🔹 Are we investing in the right kind of cultural spaces to keep them here?
Because indie music isn’t waiting for permission to thrive.
The fans, the artists, the people who keep this world alive—they already know its value.
Cities don’t need to build something new to attract creative people.
They just have to notice what’s already here.
(Hint: You might already know a place. 😉)
What We’re Listening to Now
We’re adding this section because music discovery should feel like a conversation, not an algorithm.
Got an album you think we should check out? Let us know—we might feature it in our next blog!