Republic Records announced today they will remove the term “Urban” from describing departments, employee titles, and music styles.
From a radio industry perspective I agree 100%. Over the past year I have been using Hip-Hop and Adult R&B as format descriptors for what the radio and music industry has long coined “Urban” and “Urban AC”. It is our belief that the “Urban” branding coined by WBLS New York programmer Frankie Crocker in the 1970s has outlived its usefulness both societally and in terms of properly defining the music. “Urban” music does not exist just in the inner cities and it should not be a PC way to say “black music”. The days of Hot AC stations defining themselves as “Today’s Best Music Without the Rap” have been gone since the turn of the century. Hip-Hop and R&B are mass appeal formats and should be treated as such.
Another recording industry company, Milk & Honey made the same pledge on Thursday.
