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How Adult R&B Became a Young Person’s Game On the Airwaves

Competition is intensifying at the adult R&B radio format, which typically prized legacy artists but is now playing more acts in their 20s and 30s

“It feels like the younger artists are reviving the format,” says George “Geo” Cook, head of content and audience for Service Broadcasting Group, which includes Smooth R&B 105.7 in Dallas. But it has not often functioned as a springboard for artists “to gain acceptance” at either mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations, which typically focus on hip-hop, or Adult Contemporary outlets, which tend to ignore R&B altogether. Adult R&B was often “reserved for people who didn’t have a shot on the mainstream side,” says Rex Rideout, a longtime producer and songwriter and management partner at Benchmark Entertainment.

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