Talk:Adult contemporary music

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Re: Outdated Artists[edit]

There is a place for a list of examples... We're not trying to make a comprehensive playlist, just a sample of artists that you may hear on an AC station during a particular span of time. It appears when the list was created, the editor took primarily a list of currents being played. As AC is a gold-based format, it's my belief that the list of core artists should reflect that. Here is my suggestion of how what to change the core artist list to, based on MediaBase 2007 "12 Month Reports: Artists By Format (of course, this list is not copied verbatim, that would be a copyright violation):

Please make change to this list as necessary. If there are no objections, I'll post this list to the article on/after 1 Feb 2008.

I think this list is more gold based, and therefore should stand the test of time better than continually trying to list what artists are current (...if we were trying to list currents, I'd agree with the editor below's suggestion of placing a link to a site like Radio and Records)

Ihateaubergine (talk) 00:13, 13 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

4.229.99.6 13:30, 4 July 2006 (UTC)[edit]

I punched in "adult music" into my search ndow and found this nice artical about what adult contempory music is. As a older musician I sometimes wonder where I can fit in to the music of the day. Adult contemporary music has a very wide age range,perhaps 20 to 70?I write songs that are in different styles of music ,but I still they might be A.C.This artical has cleared my mind about what songs I will put on my next CD. I have just released "Regular Joe" which has a wide mix of styles,perhaps a little too wide. I think I will narrow down the diversity next time.........any way I feel better....Larry Pless

Outdated Artists[edit]

List of Adult Contemporary (AC) artists is horribly outdated and some unfamiliar. AC music is, first and foremost, about familiar music.

Core Artists[edit]

Hey, why not discuss changes to the core artists before changing? The list has greatly expanded to include artists very few people have ever heard of and those who haven't received serious airplay in years. I love Brenda Russell, but she had one hit in the 80s; she is NOT a core artist. This should be CORE artists to the format. By definition, a list of core artist would include those with lots of hits and lots of airplay. Sorry, David Bisbal, but I can't even name one hit from you. I have gone to Mediabase 24/7 -- the industry's airplay resource and pulled up the listed of most frequently played artists. I will use that as the list. Goeverywhere 05:29, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Artist List[edit]

Does this article even need to contain a list of artists? It changes all the time, just replace the whole section with a link to a top list. Not sure if I'd call it appropriate to add a list of artists in the first place, but I digress. Further, the links provided gives an error message on the target page (not logged in / session expired, please don't link to sites which require login before showing the content desired).

Adult Alternative / Modern adult contemporary[edit]

I think there that there should be a separate article for "adult alternative" but not it should not be called "modern adult contemporary." However, it should not be called "Modern adult contemporary" as this blurs the boundaries too much, and tries to make a separate genera (that if anything is a sub-genera of alternatie rock rather than of this) into part of something its not part of.

Of course, such matters of classification are unavoidably matters of oppinion, no matter who does the classifying or how you go about it. However, I think most people use the term "adult alternative" and see it as a separate genera, and this is how sites like Yahoo Music and Amazon.com organize things (though Yahoo lists it as "rock" genera while amazon lists it as a "pop" genera).

This category would include REM, and other jangle-rock and folk-alternative bands, as well as soft and more mature variation of post-grunge, etc., including older bands like 10000 Maniacs-- but not pop-stars (like Christina Agulera) or country (like Faith Hill). Some good bands to include there would be REM, 10000 Maniacs, Sarah McLachlan, and Dishwalla. --69.254.107.165 (talk) 17:45, 3 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  • Do not support this idea. Adult Contemporary and Modern AC are two distinctly different formats. AC is what is commonly referred to as "Lite" or "Soft" Rock, while Modern AC refers to a format such as the one in place at radio stations like Alice 105.9 in Denver. --Winger84 (talk) 04:39, 10 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Do not support this idea but only because "Modern AC" is no longer a common format and could possibly be described as a subcategory of "Hot AC". I see "Hot AC" as being different from "Soft AC", although these days some stations could be described either way. The mainstream stations are starting to make the line between the two unclear. I think "Adult Top 40" is a distinct format from "Soft AC", and "Modern AC" could be considered a subcategory of that format. So could "Variety Hits", in fact.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 18:52, 30 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Requested move[edit]

The following is a closed discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was No objections, so Move Parsecboy (talk) 15:35, 5 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]


I don't think the name "Adult Contemporary Formats (AC)" makes sense. The article should have kept its original name. I tried going to the talk page of the person who moved it, but for some reason my contribution doesn't exist, not even in the history.

Should we change it back?Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:10, 30 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Capitalization[edit]

Should the term be Adult Contemporary or adult contemporary? Hot adult contemporary or Hot Adult Contemporary? The usage is not even consistent in this article; it is all over the place in the Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ronstew (talk • contribs) 19:33, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

MOS:CAPS#Musical genres spells it out. Cheers. --Rogerb67 (talk) 21:52, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I have slapped myself on the forehead for not looking at that source (I have read parts of it before) and shall start editing forthwith. Ronstew (talk) 23:46, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OMG YOU PEOPLE SERIOUSLY NEED 2 GET A LIFE —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.161.49.161 (talk) 17:48, 12 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Umm, OK, back on topic: The MOS link supports what I've generally used as the correct way to refer to "adult contemporary" music, all lowercase. Typing out those words can get cumbersome, so if it's already established in an article then I think a capital AC works as a shorter description. But I've spent quite a bit of time on here referring to the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in Billboard magazine, and since that is the name of the chart, caps should be used on all four words. Sometimes I've piped it like this: adult contemporary chart. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents. Zephyrnthesky (talk) 20:16, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

CFD notification[edit]

--Wolfer68 (talk) 06:07, 27 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This Page in General...[edit]

The Wiki Gods have marked this page with several warnings/issues that need to be addressed. I am prepared to address these by giving the page a good restructuring and reworking simply to comply with their requests for a better worldwide view and to correct duplications of text, grammatical problems and reparations to some of the issues already discussed, like Core Artists.

IMHO, I think that first off the page needs to follow a more chronological path from ACs creation as an alternative to Top 40/Pop in the early 60s. The Topics of Beautiful Music and Easy Listening need to be explained in order to put their contribution to the later popularity of the AC format into perspective. Also, the simple fact that AC has its own chart in Billboard does not mean it is an entity all to its own. AC is much more a kin to Top 40/Pop in that there are artists that create music exclusively for the genre. BUT, the "AC" Genre, as well as sub-genres like SAC (Lite) or HAC (Hot) and some of the newer "Micro-genres" like "Fresh" and "Soccer Mom Radio" are almost as dependent on Crossover Tunes from other Charts as Top 40/Pop always was. Maybe at 48 I can remember some stuff that would escape the younger editors here, but in 1970, there was a period where the BEST (virtually no historical argument) Top 40/Pop station in the Continental US, 77 WABC-AM in NYC (my hometown) had a series of Country Crossovers hit and stay at #1 on their charts. Songs like "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden" by Lynn Anderson and an obvious Country Crossover/Movie Soundtrack/Should have Crossed to AC/Redone for Easy Listening/Covered by Everybody/etc. Monster Hit #1 Top 40/Pop without ever really being destined to be THERE, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" by BJ Thomas. How About "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr? All Pop? No, I say. There's one that should have been an AC Cross TO Pop instead of the other way around, "Mr. Bojangles" the same thing .

The Pop Charts shot at the 13-17 and 18-22 Demographics and every Sub-Genre of Pop or Crossable Genre like Classical or Country or Soul that shot at the same Demographics would do so. It soon becomes obvious that today those same Demos are Programmed by a very wide variety of Micro-Genres, but still find a home at an MOR-type "Melting Pot", Crossover heavy station like Z-100 in NY. The fact that AC was and is Adult Pop by basically programming the same way as a Top 40/Pop station EXCEPT targeting the 24-48 or so Demographic, and having an equivalent Sub-Genre of Pop or Crossable Genre that targets that Demographic as well makes it much easier to understand. The Sub-Genres of Soft AC or Hot AC, then naturally program to the same Male, Female, Urban, Country, etc. Demos as their younger counterparts. And as the nation ages. so will AC Sub-Genres, first, probably IMHO, with the addition of more Contemporary R&B like Usher and R. Kelly, then later to Hip-Hop.

Also, there are two glaring omissions, a deeper look at the status of Classic Oldies Radio (WCBS-FM in NY) and how just as Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington & "The Milkman's Matinee" and "The Make-Believe Ballroom" disappeared from our parents radios in the 80s with the Demise of stations like WNEW-AM in NY, so have gone Elvis, and Little Richard and "The Doo-Wop Shop" and "The Saturday Night Sock Hop" from ours, to be replaced by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Hall & Oates. The other omission is any mention or description of the Flavor of the Decade, what could be called Jock-less Hot Oldies in Reverse (80s, 90s, & Oughties) AC, the soulless station-eating scourge more commonly known as "JACK."

I will start with the History Section and begin to prepare it to be moved its place as the second section on the page below the Introductory section. And, Yes, I will be Ultra-careful to stick to Wikis Guidelines.

J will begin to prepare some text in the next few days. PLEASE, Please help me out on this. Suggestions, corrections, ideas would be more than greatly appreciated and EVERYBODY Gets Credit for contributing to this.

Thanx in advance for all your help. Let's Do It!!!!

Peace Joey G. Rebmug (talk) 08:29, 21 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright problem removed[edit]

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As a genre[edit]

I wanted to discuss whether or not 'adult contemporary music' can be considered a genre. Allmusic appears to define 'adult contemporary' as a genre, but a lot of sources define it as a radio format. I am wondering for clarification, because under categories it is listed as a musical genre. Thoughts? --Aleccat 02:47, 5 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see an author listed for that AllMusic paragraph found online, and that information is not found in the All Music Guide series of books. Also, the unlisted author of the AllMusic paragraph says that there is a dividing line between easy listening and adult contemporary – the use of synths rather than strings – but other sources say that easy listening and adult contemporary are the same idea expressed in different eras. Wesley Hyatt (one of our references) wrote in 1999 that "middle of the road" (MOR), "easy listening" and "adult contemporary" (AC) are synonymous terms for a radio format composed of multiple styles of music, mostly pop music. The Encylopedia of Radio[1] discusses AC as a radio format which grew out of MOR, dropping the older hits to sound more modern.[2]
Lots of sources connect Christian contemporary music with the adult contemporary idea. A lot more could be written about that intersection.
The Continuum Encylopedia of Popular Music of the World says AC is both a radio format and a musical genre but then it falls down flat in its explanation of how the genre supposedly differs from soft rock and pop music. The book is much more successful in describing AC as a radio format, concluding that AC is defined by its "comforting qualities" and by its familiarity to the target audience. Under this definition, a song which is not familiar to women 24–54 years old cannot be "adult contemporary" – the classification only comes after the song has become familiar through repeated hearings, presumably on some other more courageous radio station. So that makes it impossible to consider AC a musical genre. Binksternet (talk) 04:08, 5 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Another book about the AC radio format is Broadcast Announcing Worktext: A Media Performance Guide. On page 198 the discussion about AC describes it as a radio format including soft rock and pop, the format defined differently by various stations. Binksternet (talk) 04:15, 5 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you much for your assistance. :) --Aleccat 23:14, 6 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

GMP[edit]

Some charts/stations shown in 1960's magazines as GMP are now considered Adult Contemporary. Any idea what GMP stands for? 2001:56A:FA85:3800:E505:7C9B:F7F9:2355 (talk) 02:01, 23 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I've heard that it means 'Good Music Programming". Won't guarantee that. AMCKen (talk) 21:42, 30 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Orphaned references in Adult contemporary music[edit]

I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Adult contemporary music's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "allmusic":

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT⚡ 01:42, 20 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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