Adult contemporary music

Adult contemporary music is a radio format and popular-music style aimed primarily at adult listeners, typically emphasizing accessible melodies and comparatively restrained production.

Radio format: A programming strategy that defines a station’s target audience, musical selection, and presentation. Adult contemporary is a format built around a defined audience and recurring musical choices.
Middle of the road (music): A popular-music style and radio format favoring broadly accessible, polished songs. It was a major predecessor to adult contemporary radio.
Contemporary hit radio: A radio format focused on current popular singles, often targeting younger listeners. It generally favors newer, higher-energy hits over adult contemporary’s broader familiarity.
Adult Contemporary (chart): A Billboard chart ranking songs based on adult contemporary radio airplay. It tracks songs selected by stations using this format.
Radio airplay: The broadcast of recorded music by radio stations. Repeated airplay helps determine which songs become associated with adult contemporary.
Easy listening: A popular-music style and radio format built around mellow, unobtrusive arrangements. Adult contemporary inherited some of its emphasis on relaxed listening.
Classic hits: A radio format playing well-known popular songs from past decades. It prioritizes established older hits rather than a mix of current and recurrent music.
Billboard charts: Rankings of recorded music based on measures such as sales, streams, or radio airplay. The adult contemporary chart is one specialized chart within this system.
Audience measurement: Methods used to estimate the size and composition of media audiences. Stations use audience data when choosing music for adult listeners.
Top 40: A radio format centered on frequently played popular singles, especially current hits. Its faster turnover and youth-oriented emphasis differ from adult contemporary programming.

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