Children’s Music Industry, U.S.

The children’s music industry in the United States has evolved significantly over the last century, but throughout its history has been characterized by two significant differences from the mainstream music industry: (1) the business model of children’s music has long emphasized cross-selling of books, toys, dolls, and other child-focused consumer items and (2) the children’s music industry has a long-standing investment in combining educational values with entertainment. This entry examines the children’s music industry’s early history, its expansion in the 1960s to 1980s, its increased market intensification in the 1990s, and the eventual expansion of a tween music market in the 21st century.