How Britpop Was the Most Brilliant Marketing Strategy in Music History
How good marketing shaped one of the most prominent cultural phenomena
In the early ’90s, British music was trying to find its direction. After the hectic ’60s in which British music dominated the world with Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and many other strong influential rock bands and artists; followed by punk and new wave of ’70s and ’80s; the ’90s was off to a rough start for newly flourishing British bands. How would they stand out after their strong predecessors?
Meanwhile, overseas, in the U.S, a new movement in rock music started to emerge. Rooted in Seattle, it was a brand-new genre, grunge. Heavily popularized by the band Nirvana, plaid flannels, and depressing songs; it quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Observing this, the early ’90s British bands now seemed to find their motivation to be more assertive at their game.
Blur’s vocalist Damon Albarn says Britpop was an anti-grunge movement at its core, as it was a reaction to the sad and depressing songs with more upbeat and optimistic songs. One of the most important pillars in the establishing of Britpop was reminding British people that being British is something to be proud about, in this Americanized world. It was sort of U.K.’s rebellion against America.
