Music Information

Is the Mainstream Ready Once Again for Dance Music?


Not since the heyday of Dance/Pop Artists like Taylor Dayne and Paula Abdul has Dance Music been a mainstream category. Today, "Dance Music" as defined by Billboard's Dance Club Chart represents only a very small segment of the music market. But thanks to the recent CD Release "Sleeping in the Nothing" from Kelly Osbourne and another upcoming CD release from Entertainment Media magnet Paris Hilton, that could very well change.

Osbourne is a Reality TV Star and Mainstream Solo Artist who has embraced the Dance Music Genre on her latest CD. And because of her Star Status, she's bringing a lot of mainstream attention back to "Dance Music". It is ironic that Osbourne, a newcomer to the genre, might yet turn a Dance CD into a multi-platinum Mainstream hit.

After the country's musical tastes moved towards Hip Hop, Urban, and R&B/Pop, the Major Labels redirected their focus away from the Dance/Pop genre and it fell into decline. The dance music landscape attracted more than it's fair share of sub-standard Producers, Vocalists, and Songwriters. It got so bad that even legit Artists who could hold their own in any genre, like Grammy Nominees Amber and Deborah Cox were affected by it. Cox has even suggested publicly that being labeled a "Dance Artist" hurt her mainstream career.

Though these Artists have continued to release Remix Singles (Amber's latest "Voodoo" is out June 21), many of them have embraced other musical genres. Amber has gotten great notices for her multi-genre (Alt Rock infused Electronica, Pop/Rock, Dance, Jazz) CD "My Kind of World" and Cox has said that she is recording a CD of Broadway and Jazz standards. Even Kristine W told the Toronto Press after an appearance at last year's Fashion Cares that she'll do a Jazz CD next.

If Osbourne has a mainstream hit with "Sleeping in the Nothing" though, Dance Music's fortunes may turn once again. And the announcement from the Internet's most searched for celebrity Paris Hilton that she too will release a Dance CD shortly (which will reportedly include a remake of Blondie's Disco Classic "Heart of Glass") virtually guarantees that Dance Music will get a huge Mainstream Media boost. If these Artists are successful in turning younger CD Buyers onto Dance Music, the genre might once again become a Commercial force.

Kevin Snook is the editor of Dance Music, a site focusing on dance/pop music artists, articles and reviews.


MORE RESOURCES:

NewsOXY

Music industry eases tactics in fighting piracy
Reuters - 5 hours ago
... file-sharers marks a fundamental shift in the music business's battle against piracy, from one focused on enforcement to one emphasizing education. ...
Sling Media, CNET News
Is the RIAA admitting defeat? InfoWorld
Music Industry Ditches Company It Used to Gather Evidence on Students Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)
Wired News - NewsOXY
all 44 news articles


'08 music sales hit record high
Hollywood Reporter, United States - Jan 4, 2009
Overall music sales set record in 2008, with more than 1.5 billion units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Nielsen Co.'s annual year-end music ...
Music Sales Reach a Record High, But Not Through Album Sales TheCelebrityCafe.com
Music sales boom, but albums fizzle for '08 USA Today
Music Sales Fell in 2008, but Climbed on the Web New York Times
Los Angeles Times - San Francisco Chronicle
all 518 news articles


Music marketers target female shoppers at home
Reuters - 5 hours ago
By Ed Christman NEW YORK (Billboard) - With CD sales dropping fast, the music business is exploring nontraditional ways to expose consumers to recording ...


Canada.com

Hyundai Super Bowl ad to feature music by Yo-Yo Ma
Reuters - 7 hours ago
By Kamau High NEW YORK (Billboard) - Hyundai Motor Co. will use music by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a Super Bowl XLIII television commercial that consumers ...
Yo Yo Ma Teams Up With Goodby For The Super Bowl mediabistro.com
all 6 news articles


New York Times

A Year in Love and Music
New York Times, United States - 4 hours ago
With music now available with a single, offhand click, it's easy to forget that songs are not born whole, polished and ready to play. ...


Bid to open prison doors for music
The Press Association - 3 hours ago
Organisers of one of the stages at the Glastonbury Festival will be taking their blend of music and political campaigning to the heart of redneck Texas to ...


Los Angeles Times

Musebin: The future of music reviews?
Los Angeles Times, CA - 10 hours ago
The user-driven site allows for only a sentence or two, paring down music reviews to a Twitter or Facebook status update. Although the launch of such a site ...
Musebin's 140-Character Reviews Go Live, Power Hype Machine Wired News
Hype Machine Zeitgeist: Listen in Full to the 50 Most Blogged ... ReadWriteWeb
all 4 news articles


More schools getting in tune with mariachi
The Associated Press - 23 hours ago
Then the teenager started playing the music of the elder's homeland. Perez, 14, took a mariachi music class at his Fort Worth high school, ...


Music matters at Sundance
Variety, CA - 6 hours ago
By KATHY A. MCDONALD Music matters at Sundance. Both the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival have long supported the cross-pollination between ...


PR Web (press release)

Miccus Unleashes Digital Music: Launches BluBridge Home Speaker ...
Reuters - 22 hours ago
Bridge Music Wirelessly from an iPod, Macbook or Phone to Existing Home Stereo and Audio/Video Equipment HOLLAND, Mich.--(Business Wire)-- Amidst a growing ...
Tenqa to Exhibit New Line of Bluetooth® Wireless Speakers ... PR Web (press release)
Miccus Debuts BluBridge Wireless Speakers, Transmitters and Receivers TMCnet
all 18 news articles

Music - Google News

home | site map
© 2006