Sony Urban Music

Sony Urban Music was a division of Sony BMG, active from 2004 to 2006, The division handled R&B, soul, and hip hop releases by artists nominally signed to Sony's Columbia and Epic labels. During its existence, Sony Urban managed releases by artists such as Bow Wow, John Legend, Omarion, Bossman, DMX, Beyoncé, Amerie, Keshia Chante and contemporary Christian music duo Anointed.

In November 2006, it was announced that Sony Urban Music would be dismantled. All of the artists handled by Sony Urban were returned to either Columbia or Epic, with a handful of exceptions. R&B singer Omarion switched from Epic to Columbia, where he recorded a duets album with rapper Bow Wow. New signees Sa-Ra, signed to Columbia through Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, negotiated their release during the restructuring.

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Urban contemporary

Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid-1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop, R&B, grime, electronic music such as dubstep, UK garage and drum and bass (often with hip hop vocalists or rappers), and Caribbean music such as reggae, dancehall, reggaeton, zoui, bouyon, and soca (In Toronto, London, New York City, Boston and Miami). Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul. Virtually all urban contemporary formatted radio stations are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Memphis, Boston, New Orleans, Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Oklahoma City, and Charlotte.

The term "urban contemporary" is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly for R&B in African-American contexts. For Latin Americans, the music is more Latin urban, such as reggaeton, Latin hip hop and bachatón. Their playlists are dominated by singles by top-selling hip hop and R&B performers. On occasion, an urban contemporary station will play classic soul songs from the 1970s and early 1980s to satisfy the earlier end of the genre.