Adult Contemporary Music is a genre of music that first emerged as a radio format based on popular music. It incorporates some characteristics of Pop, Rock and Light Jazz. It includes most pieces of contemporary music with the exception of Hard Rock and Hip Hop. Adults are the major audience of this radio format but it appeals to many different age groups that are partial to Adult Contemporary Music because of its pleasant, melodic characteristics as well as its progressive and strong beat. Many contemporary musicians release singles that cross over to this popular radio format in order to reach a wider audience. Adult Contemporary Music is a popular choice for background music for businesses and companies that wish to provide a pleasant environment for their clients.
There are different variations of Adult Contemporary Music such as Hot, Soft and Urban.
Hot. Adult Contemporary Music dates back to 1986 when it was first introduced to cater to an audience that listened to popular music but was not interested in the top-40 songs of that period. WWMX of Baltimore was the first station that adopted this format. A mix of popular songs that weren’t too old and contemporary songs with an adult audience made up the play list of this station. Other radio stations adopted this format and by the 1990s many radio stations across the country were playing this mix of music. In 1961 Billboard Magazine published its first Adult Contemporary Music chart.
By the mid-1980s, VH1, the music video channel started playing Adult Contemporary Music as an alternative to the MTV video channel to please more mature audiences. Both these radio and television formats moved away from their origins and embraced more contemporary musicians in order to keep up with the times and retain their audience share.
Musicians played on these stations include an eclectic group of artists such as Elton John, Rod Stewart, Eagles, Phil Collins, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Jewel, James Taylor, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, Sheryl Crow, Celine Dion, and many other contemporary artists.
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