niche music = bad music

By Kenzie Eyles

Niche music is bad. Or at least that’s what you’d think if you’re tone‑deaf and listen to pop for a living, believing your taste is defined by radio rotations and whichever chart‑toppers your friends have heard. But, if you actually open your ears, you’ll find that some of the most compelling, deeply addictive, and totally under‑the‑radar songs are coming from artists most people haven’t even heard of yet, and they’re way better than your favourite ‘pop banger’.

Let’s start with The Rions (488.8k monthly listeners), a Sydney indie rock band whose songs feel like snapshots of real life wrapped in hooks you didn’t see coming. Tracks like “Night Light” and “Scary Movies” are from a band that’s already certified gold in Australia, yes, gold, without dominating worldwide charts. “Night Light” has that big anthem energy that made them winners of Triple J’s Unearthed High, and “Scary Movies” captures that nostalgic collision of new love and teenage chaos so well that it sticks in your head.

Their 2025 debut album "Everything Every Single Day" also gave us sing-along gems like “Shut You Out” and “Maybe I’m Just a Freak”, each packed with raw emotional insight and guitar hooks that feel effortless but are anything but.

Another band sitting in that same niche-but-amazing space is DICE (235k monthly listeners). Songs like “Stop Sign” and “Gliding” have that laid-back indie rock groove that sounds effortless but still sticks in your head for days. There’s a looseness to their music that feels natural, like it wasn’t engineered to death in a studio. Instead of chasing viral moments, their songs feel like they belong blasting through car speakers on a late-night drive or playing live in a packed venue where everyone already knows the words.

Then there’s Vase Cameo (46 monthly listeners) and the track “The Floor” is one of those songs that feels deceptively simple at first, but the more you listen, the more it settles into your brain. The drums feel airy and relaxed, the vocals float over the instrumental instead of overpowering it, and the whole song has this understated cool to it. It’s not trying to be huge or dramatic; it just quietly works, which is exactly what makes it stick.

Then there’s Sean Eisel (198 monthly listeners) and his song “Patterns”, a slow-burn jam with rich layers that reward listening with headphones and no distraction. It’s mellow but purposeful, like the kind of track you stumble onto at 2 a.m. and suddenly everything feels more reflective and sharp. That’s exactly the opposite of pop music that blares billion‑stream hooks but leaves no emotional trace.

Smaller names like Harry Kirby (36k monthly listeners), Link3 (90k monthly listeners), Ra Ra Viper (94.6k monthly listeners), and Current Blue (291k monthly listeners) have mastered this vibe too. They make songs that feel like hidden messages, intimate vocals, unexpected chord changes, fresh production choices, the kind of music that doesn’t just sound pleasant but feels personal. Their tracks aren’t on every billboard, but they should be: they have the emotional texture mainstream songs often lack.

People love to claim that niche music is “bad” simply because it’s not everywhere. They judge it by how many streams it has rather than what it actually does to a listener when they press play. You could argue that playlists filled with these niche artists reward attention. If you’re actually listening, you hear things pop music never tries to deliver: vulnerability, nuance, and soundscapes that make you feel something real instead of just nodding along.

So go ahead and make fun of niche music if you want, but know this: the artists mentioned above have depth that pop often avoids. From The Rions’ emotional indie rock journey to DICE’s late-night-drive essentials, Harry Kirby’s catchy sincerity, and Sean Eisel’s reflective pacing, good music isn’t determined by popularity. It’s determined by how it makes you feel.

But the question truly is: do all artists with millions of monthly listeners actually deserve them? Now, of course, some do; there’s no arguing that Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, or even Renee Rapp have earned every stream with talent, consistency, and reach that spans the globe. But in the sea of “popular” music, there are plenty of names whose numbers are inflated, whether through playlist placement tricks, label promotion, or even the occasional scheme to buy monthly listeners. The result? Charts and streaming stats that look impressive on paper, but don’t always reflect who’s creating music that actually connects with people.

Meanwhile, genuinely talented niche artists, like The Rions, DICE, Vase Cameo, and Sean Eisel, quietly build devoted followings that matter, even if it’s only a few thousand ears at a time. And honestly, isn’t that a better measure of artistry than a fake or artificially boosted number?

And when you finally give these ‘niche’ songs a real listen, you might realise that niche isn’t “bad music”, it might just be artists that can’t yet afford to buy fans and listening.