Researcher Links Hipster Subculture to Napster-Era Music Access

Mp3s meant that the cost of acquiring music became zero. But the absence of streaming and recommendation algorithms meant the cost of *information about what to acquire* was not zero. Hence the obsession with obscurity and taste.

When you had to drop $15 on a CD you couldn't just be a fan of everything. Subcultures were built around a particular genre of music because you had to be selective about what you listened to. But hipsters listened to everything.