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Black Music Month...$$$
June 4, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Along with conglomerates and Wall Street came a need for more analysis of the listening audience. Now comes the misread, research has not ruined Black Music, Urban radio or radio in general; it's the interpretation and application. Recently a VP told me his company had discovered, through auditorium tests, the need for '90s Hip-Hop titles for its Urban AC stations. When I asked why it took so long for this conclusion, he told me, "We had to wait until the budget was at point, we could hold the test." My point: Everyone is waiting to try and not make a mistake. The human element controls research
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June is Black Music Month, but don't confuse the culture of Black music with the commercialization of it. No successful art form can grow without being measured in terms of dollars and cents. Many critically acclaimed pieces of music by African-Americans do not fit into America's formatted Urban, Urban AC, or Top 40/Rhythmic stations.
What Radio Does ...
Commercial radio attempts to play what most of its targeted audience likes; it's about selling commercials and making a profit. Black Music Month has become a backdrop to educate the musical contributions of African-Americans far beyond today's music.
Green ...
Over time, the economics of Black music expanded the Urban format to Urban AC and Top 40/Rhythmic. The music is Urban, Suburban, Hip-Hop, and R&B. What we see today is largely a result of the 90s/2000s; evolving social awareness, digital media, technology and the increased greening of Black music.
Here's What Happened ...
Hip-Hop and R&B dominated the charts and radio during the '90s on Urban Mainstream (Black radio) and the new format, Urban AC (UAC). The '90s also saw the emergence of "Smooth Jazz" stations whose playlists contained up to 70% African-American artists. It was during the decade of the '90s that AC and Hot AC stations joined with Top 40 in playing more Black artists. Audience research was indicating large numbers of non-African-Americans grew up with Black music and it had a wide acceptance level. The cable satellite channels MTV, The BOX, BET, and VH1 played a huge part in the growth.
The Research
The '90s was the decade of heightened music research and emergence of the cable video channels playing Michael Jackson, Prince, Rick James, Lionel Richie, Jermaine Dupri, Bobby Brown, Biggie Smalls, Dr. Dre, New Edition, Snoop Dogg Whitney Houston, Rick James, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Jay-Z, Heavy D, Scarface, The Isley Brothers, Will Smith (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince), MC Hammer and on and on. This was the last big music evolution before the digital delivery and social media revolution.
Artists Collaborate ...
The fusion of musical singing collaborations we see today began increasing during the '90s. From a creative standpoint, it was reminiscent of some of the old Motown and Stax record days, but in 2019 Urban Mainstream artists have increased the practice two-fold. Featured singing collaborations were rare in earlier decades because labels didn't want to split royalties or help boost artists' careers on other labels.
It Started Changing ...
The misconception about Black Music in the 90s and 2000s is music research. For a long time, even the most successful well-run Black-operated radio stations depended on the ears of the PDs and MDs for the decisions on what songs to play Until the '90s, most Urban stations were looking for answers from request lines and calling record stores. Often stations found out that some songs not selling at retail were still big favorites with radio listeners. The requests lines in markets were totally controlled and dominated by teenage girls. Nowadays it's the texts of teenage girls
Where It Began ...
The timeline for Black radio and research coincides with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Along with conglomerates and Wall Street came a need for more analysis of the listening audience. Now comes the misread, research has not ruined Black Music, Urban radio or radio in general; it's the interpretation and application. Recently a VP told me his company had discovered, through auditorium tests, the need for '90s Hip-Hop titles for its Urban AC stations. When I asked why it took so long for this conclusion, he told me, "We had to wait until the budget was at point, we could hold the test." My point: Everyone is waiting to try and not make a mistake. The human element controls research.
They Don't Make Music Like That Anymore...
Like any era, bring up all hits from the '90s/2000s and the first words out of the mouths of many, "Most of today's music is garbage." Every era has its share of good and bad. Every generation romanticizes moments of their youth and much of it is associated with their music. Until I point out some titles from the 90s/2000s, no one remembers how bad some of the songs were. Many only remember the hits. I remind people, "Even Beethoven had some symphonies that stiffed."
Evolution ...
"Black Music isn't the same anymore." It's not supposed to be, it's called growth. Inevitably there will be more artistry hybrids and more new digital music delivery systems. It will archive decades of African-American contributions to musical history in all genres.
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