Conclusion

In summary, this lesson has discussed the labeling of African American music by record labels as race music during the 1920s without consideration of their stylistic differences such as jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues. Nonetheless, some disc jockeys and others in the music industry contributed to the dissemination of African American music and categorized it as it should be. Moreover, their efforts added variety to listener's choice of music, particularly in the 1940s when professional music trade journals such as Billboard and others began using the term "rhythm and blues" to identify the popular music of the day other than jazz. This lesson has also made the connection between radio and music licensing agencies like ASCAP and BMI, and tape recorders and jukeboxes, as other means by which a larger number of Americans were exposed to African American music beginning in the 1940s. Finally, the term "crossover" has shown the significance of particularly rhythm and blues music to the establishment of rock and roll music.