Pop music is a massive collective name for commercial music which is widely distributed across many different avenues. Pop music is becoming more and more diverse and is not as easily labelled as cheesy music anymore. There is a wide diversification of musical genres within pop music and this will continue to grow as the availability of music becomes even more effortless.
RnB
Originating from African American music of the 1940s RnB is recognised by funky beats and strong bass lines. Pop music artists like Beyonce and Nelly have strong RnB influences in their music.
Disco
Popular in the 1970s, Disco has roots in the New York City and Philadelphia Gay communities. It was seen as a reaction to the domination of rock music and soon took off across all demographics. Popular artists who embrace disco music are George Michael, Whitney Houston and the Spice Girls.
Rock
Developed in the 1960s and categorised by strong guitar and drums, rock music takes many different styles. Rock has recently seen a small demise in popular culture, although bands such as Bon Jovi and Guns and Roses still have good chart success when they release songs.
Britpop
Very popular in the 1990s with the likes of Blur and Oasis, this gave people an alternative to rock music without the clean cut image of traditional pop music. This is a genre that is still going strong with bands such as Plain White Tees, Ash and Arctic Monkeys.
Reggae
Coming from Jamaica in the 1960s the accent is on the off-beat, beats 2 and 4. It uses complex bass-lines and rhythm guitars to emphasise the off beat rhythm. Made famous and popular by Bob Marley, reggae is a massive influence to pop music artists such as UB40, Ollie Murs and Aswad.
Folk
Folk music has seen an increase of popularity over the last couple of years in the singles charts with bands like The Pogues and Mumford and Sons. Folk is recognised by tuneful lyrics and soft guitar backing.
Grime
This form of urban music is seeing a huge rise through the UK singles charts with pop music artists like Dizzee Rascal and Wiley becoming mainstream entertainers. Grime sees criticism from some camps as the lyrics can be vulgar or violent. However grime producers are cleaning up to ensure commercial coverage as much as possible.