A Uses and Gratifications Approach to Examining Lo-Fi Music Genre Popularity among Indian Gen Z during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study employs a uses and gratifications approach to understand Indian Gen Z listeners’ sustained interest and motivations in consuming low-fidelity (lo-fi) music during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lo-fi (or low fidelity) music is recognizable through its singular imperfections, slow tempo, layered ambient background noise, and heavy reverb; it encompasses a visual art style and aesthetic. This inductive qualitative study interviews 23 Gen Z lo-fi music listeners and two lo-fi music producers to uncover themes including negative mood management, reminiscence, accessibility, social interaction, and Bollywoodness. This research contributes to how Gen Z listeners access a wide range of music, have exclusive reasons for their choices, and have nuanced reasons for why they experience frustrations towards the lo-fi music genre. The findings also have implications for potential lo-fi producers in understanding why listeners are drawn towards lo-fi music, how they consume and interact with it, and how it can evolve for newer audiences.