Urban adult contemporary

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Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B, [1] ) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on their playlists, and generally include some mix of contemporary R&B and traditional R&B (while urban oldies stations emphasize only the latter). Urban adult contemporary playlists generally consist of many different genres that originated amongst Black Americans including R&B, soul, funk, disco, jazz, pop, hip-hop, electro, quiet storm, gospel, new jack swing, and hip-hop soul.

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Summary

The format usually plays some classic R&B hits, as well as hits that are ten years old or more. Classic dance music also has a great impact in this format. Disc jockeys use a more relaxed sound than their younger counterparts. News and current events have a major impact on the older audience. Around the evening, urban AC stations play smooth jazz during the Quiet Storm program. Many of the urban AC radio stations implement slogans such as "Classic Soul & Today's R&B", "(City/Region)'s Old School and R&B Station", "The Best Mix of R&B", and "(City/Region)'s R&B Leader." Some popular nicknames for urban oldies stations include "Magic" (borrowed from the adult contemporary format), "Mix" and "Star" (both borrowed from the Hot AC format), and "KISS-FM" (borrowed from top 40/CHR). WBLS in New York City, which is the flagship station of the urban contemporary format, was one of the first stations to introduce the urban AC format in 1994. WRKS-FM (also in New York City) introduced the first 24-hour classic soul radio station in the country. Urban AC stations usually target the 18-49 and 25-54 age groups.

Many urban AC stations rely heavily on syndicated programming such as The Steve Harvey Morning Show and The D. L. Hughley Show . Cumulus Media Networks also operates a 24/7 urban AC format delivered to affiliated stations via satellite, called "The Touch", which is common on smaller- and medium-market stations featuring the urban AC format.

KJLH in Los Angeles is one urban AC station whose playlist heavily emphasizes current material.

While artists were once reluctant to be on urban AC because it made them look "old", by 2024, young people had become a major part of the format. With mainstream urban becoming more of a hip-hop format, R&B was less of a factor there. Urban AC played more of a role in introducing records and artists than it had been. It was also more popular than mainstream urban. [2]

Urban oldies

"Urban oldies" refers to R&B music dating back to the late 1950s/early 1960s through the early 1990s. Although African Americans are the primary audience, radio stations playing this type of music often attract White listeners because R&B is one of the roots of rock and roll. A more mass-appeal version of the format is rhythmic oldies, which attracts both white and black listeners, as well as Latino listeners (particularly in the Southwest United States). One of the first stations to play this type of music was WRKS-FM (98.7 Kiss FM). In December 1994, Emmis Broadcasting transformed Kiss FM into the first station to play urban oldies music on a regular basis. The format was an instant hit with black and white listeners around the Greater New York area, reaching to number two on the Arbitron ratings.[ citation needed ]

Before WRKS, many of the stations playing this music were on AM radio. Primary artists included The Isley Brothers, McFadden & Whitehead, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and The Temptations. One of the first stations to try the format was WSID in Baltimore in the late 1950s/1960s/1970s. WDGS in the Louisville market had a full-range urban AC format, with no rap music, as early as 1985. WDGS neatly substituted jazz, blues and urban/soul gold for the 35% of the playlists that were rap/hip-hop at the time, while playing 65% non-rap urban currents, to wide acclaim. WJMO in Cleveland and WVOL in Nashville were some of the early converts. KHYS in Houston switched to the format in 1999. KCJZ in San Antonio followed suit 7 months later. Early in 1994, M Street Journal reported 33 radio stations in the format, compared to 14 a year earlier. Many of these were affiliates of the Satellite Music Network format Urban Gold, which had 27 stations six months after starting October 1, 1993. Steve Harris, the SMN manager for urban radio, said no black radio stations had targeted adults over 35. Consultant Tony Gray said older adults did not like contemporary music, which had few tunes that had proved they could stand the test of time. And hip hop was becoming a bigger part of contemporary radio. Another factor was the availability of older records in remastered form. Hurricane Dave Smith of WJJJ in Pittsburgh, which had switched from smooth jazz, doubted the format would succeed on FM radio, but he believed listeners who enjoyed older songs were used to AM. Sean Ross of WGCI in Chicago believed the format could work either place, but stations that selected it would be those desiring something different. The satellite format focused on the years 1967 to 1978, but also played songs from as far back as 1963 and as recent as the early 1980s. Included were both ballads and uptempo songs. WGCI even played songs from the 1950s, including Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, though Ross said even teenagers liked the station because they had learned about older songs from their parents, and because newer versions of old songs were being recorded. [3] Other stations included WRBO 103.5 in Memphis, WNPL in Nashville, KMEZ in New Orleans and WPLZ in Richmond. [4]

In addition to WRBO, urban oldies stations include WATV (AM) in Birmingham, Alabama, and KAJM in Phoenix. [5] Some urban oldies stations refer to this format as "old school," [6] for example, WOSL in Cincinnati.

Name controversy

There is disagreement in the music industry over the use of the term urban in describing music genres and formats. In June 2020, Republic Records and artist management company Milk & Honey stated that they would drop the use of the word in relation to music of a black origin. These decisions came in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police and the subsequent protests. [1] [7]

Lance Venta of radio industry publication RadioInsight claimed that the term urban is outdated in that R&B and hip hop music have gained massive popularity outside the inner cities and the descriptor should not serve as a euphemism for "black music". He recommended substituting the terms adult R&B for the urban adult contemporary format and hip hop for urban contemporary. [1]

Myron Fears, operations manager and program director of the black owned Carter Broadcast Group in Kansas City, defended the use of the urban tag. Responding to Republic's elimination of the term, he expressed concern that the action diminishes the status of black music executives within record companies and the industry as a whole:

I do not think it’s a great idea because it nullifies all the hard work that past African American music executives built. This potentially leads to the dissolving of people and positions within the Urban music division. Hip Hop and R&B is leading the way for the surge in music sales and usage of streaming. Are the other positions, titles and departments within a record company going to change or dissolve? ... Do they realize the cultural power of Urban Music?

— Myron Fears, Carter Broadcast Group operations manager/program director [8]

In 2024, Billboard quoted P Music Group founder Michael Paran, who said of the magazine's Adult R&B chart, "the chart is named wrong ... Let's call it what it is: It's just R&B." [2] More younger people were showing up on a chart that had been dominated by "legacy acts". [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of Black genres such as R&B, pop-rap, quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, hip hop, Latin music such as Latin pop, Chicano R&B and Chicano rap, and Caribbean music such as reggae and soca. Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEPN-FM</span> Radio station in New York City

WEPN-FM is a radio station in New York City. Owned by Emmis Communications, it broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format. Its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBLK</span> Radio station in Depew–Buffalo, New York

WBLK is a commercial radio station licensed to Depew that serves Western New York, the Buffalo metropolitan area and the Niagara Region of Ontario. WBLK is owned by Townsquare Media and has an urban contemporary radio format, featuring hip hop, R&B and soul. The station carries the syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWPR-FM</span> Urban contemporary radio station in New York City

WWPR-FM is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. WWPR-FM is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated morning show, The Breakfast Club.

A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelled to develop new and exclusive ways to programming by competition with television. The formula has since spread as a reference for commercial radio programming worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRRL</span> Urban contemporary radio station in Los Angeles

KRRL – branded Real 92.3 – is a commercial urban contemporary radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving much of the Greater Los Angeles area. Owned by iHeartMedia, KRRL serves as the flagship for Big Boy's Neighborhood. The KRRL studios are located in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, while the station transmitter resides on Mount Wilson. Besides a standard analog transmission, KRRL broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via iHeartRadio.

WDVD is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned and operated by Cumulus Media, WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center district near downtown, while its transmitter is located in Royal Oak Township at 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue.

Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses hard rock or country in its airplay, but it may occasionally use a reggae, Latin, reggaeton, or an urban contemporary gospel hit. Essentially, the format is a cross between the mainstream radio and urban contemporary radio formats.

WRNB is a commercial radio station licensed to Media, Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia–Delaware Valley radio market. It is owned by Radio One and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. In afternoon drive time, WRNB carries the syndicated D. L. Hughley Show. WRNB's studios and offices are in the Two Bala Plaza– building on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KISQ</span> Radio station in San Francisco

KISQ is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco. It broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format, known as "The Breeze," and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and offices are in the SoMa district of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRCD (FM)</span> Spanish-language radio station in West Covina, California, United States

KRCD is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Inglewood, California, and broadcasting to Greater Los Angeles Area.

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Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic audiences. It is also referred to as "Jammin' Oldies" or "Music From Back in the Day" by various radio stations. Since the late 2000s, much of the library in the "rhythmic oldies" format has been adopted by the classic hits format. A variation on the format is urban oldies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KHYL</span> Radio station in Auburn, California

KHYL is a commercial radio station, licensed to Auburn, California, and serving the Sacramento metropolitan area. It broadcasts a classic hip hop radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on River Park Drive, off the Capital City Freeway in North Sacramento near the Arden Fair Mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTCX</span> Radio station in Beaumont, Texas

KTCX is an urban contemporary formatted radio station in Beaumont, Texas. It serves the entire Golden Triangle and is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located on South Eleventh Street in Beaumont, and its transmitter is located between Beaumont and Fannett.

Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music.

WERC-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Hoover, Alabama, and serving Greater Birmingham. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it simulcasts a talk radio format with sister station WERC 960 AM. The studios and offices are in Beacon Ridge Tower on First Avenue South in Birmingham, off Interstate 65.

Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately worship-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, CCM, gospel, Christian R&B, quiet storm and Christian rock influence. Primarily in the United States and Canada, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that they play hits often and for long periods of time. Christian adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style Jesus music that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of Christian pop/rock music.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Venta, Lance (June 5, 2020). "Republic Records Eliminates Usage Of "Urban"; Urges Rest Of Industry To Follow Suit". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Leight, Elias (May 11, 2024). "Adult R&B's Youthful Look". Billboard . 136 (7): 20.
  3. ↑ Carrie Borzillo AM Gives R&B rhythm blues Oldies a New Lease on Life Billboard, 3/26/94,
  4. ↑ Sean Ross, R&B rhythm blues Oldies Format On The RiseBillboard, 03/06/99, p. 28.
  5. ↑ Mediaguide.com, archive of 2008/12/25.
  6. ↑ Search results for "old school" on Radioinsight.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Savage, Mark (June 8, 2020). "Drake and Ariana Grande's record label drops the term 'urban'". BBC News . Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Republic Records Stops Using The Term 'Urban' For Music, Execs & Department -- Other Labels And Radio Programmers Weigh In". All Access. All Access Music Group. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
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