NOTES ON MUSIC CATEGORIZATION

Fifty years ago we had a handful of music genres (rock, folk, jazz, country, reggae, blues, classical) Programming for these music formats was easy. As time went on – NEW MUSIC GENRES appeared (heavy metal, hip-hop, rap, alternative rock, new country?) Many new sounds today often blend more than one genre together, creating music that could fit into more than one category. Is it possible to categorize these new hybrids of music or do we need to?

In the early days of FM radio (1970) the ROCK genre’ encompassed a wide variety of sounds. Radio’s “free-form rock format” ** welcomed other genre’s such as blues & reggae from time to time. The group “Steely Dan” often flavored their music with jazz and other sounds. Their albums sold well and this was accomplished without touring! Another definitive ROCK band “Led Zeppelin” also had their quieter songs such as “Thank You”. So – what is known as the ROCK genre’ has traditionally included a wide variety of musical sounds.

Record stores need some type of organization, this is true. Some of the more recent categories though such as “alternative rock” confuses the issue. Alternative to what? Music that has more than one influence (or genre) should possibly be placed with the more prominent genre.

In regards to music programming for radio – we should consider that there are different types of music listeners. Some people only like one genre while others have a broader range of musical tastes. When I was programming for college radio, I learned that you cannot please everyone. Certainly – I tried to please the majority and keep my show fresh by playing lots of new releases. New Century Music Box is creating shows in this spirit of “free-form Rock radio”.