Music in the 1990’s was all about the commercialization of music. Even alternative and rock bands got in on the action with stars like Hootie and the Blowfish getting their music in television commercials and bands like Nirvana and Sound Garden were getting play time on the radio and took MTV by storm with their cutting edge music video. The music industry was thriving in the 1990’s and artists were making more money than ever. Niche marketing allowed artists to find and capture their audience easier and technology made listening to music more accessible. This would eventually lead to a battle with music piracy as Americans resisted the rising price of music and embraced technology that allowed them to circumvent the industry.
Teen Pop also emerged during the 1990’s and really only existed in the late 1980’s, late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Many teen pop stars got their start as child actors on Disney programming like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera who were all on The Mickey Mouse Club together as young children and continued their success into the music genre. The success of these artists would lead to a new era of crossover child stars in the 2000’s who get their start on a Disney kids show and transition to music as their audience grows up – examples of this include stars like Drake, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus.
In the 1990’s being a music star means being a superstar, you set trends, appear on shows and earn huge amounts of money. For the most part the 1990’s brought great success to the music industry and further cemented it’s place in the heart of American Pop Culture.
