AOL Debuts GAY Music - Lifestyles Website

[! search-engines-web]

http://music.aol.com/feature/gay_music

[rustybrick]

So what? They also have country http://music.aol.com/franchise/musicstyles/country

[randfish]

I guess my only question would be "what is gay music?"

When I go to gay bars in Seattle with friends, the music seems largely similiar to what's being played at other (non-specifically-gay) clubs. I suppose it's just a technique to target a demographic subculture - good for business, I'd imagine.

[aplusjimages]

I'm guessing it's music by gay artists.

[pk_synths]

Or just alot of Madonna, Britney Spears and Beyonce :P

[randfish]

Well, I see a few openly gay performers (I believe Rufus Wainwright & Fiona Apple), but Tegan and Sara, Alanis and Britney aren't, so maybe it's just a group of musicians hand-selected by folks who are involved in the gay & lesbian community and know what those folks are apt to enjoy?

The strange thing is that it's a demographic group, rather than a specific type of music. I'd love to see stats on how it's performing and whether marketers are gonig to start targeting this group specifically. I'm personally unsure of how homogenous a group it is, as compared to, say country music fans or fans of opera...

[Chris Boggs]

I agree with rand that this seems a little "strange" in that is it hard to target a group such as the gay community in a vertical such as music. I have had many gay friends with a variety of music preferences, although some may feel "they" only listen to pop and techno, for example.

I would say this is a shrewd move by AOL in targeting a very attractive demographic, based on spending power and user loyalty estimates made available from market research companies. A good example of that power would be this article (http://uk.gay.com/headlines/9511), found at number one for the search "gay market spending power" at G.