Kid Stuff : Music: The industry finds a new market as recording artists cater to baby-boomers’ babies.

Kid pop culture is heating up, thanks to the baby boomers’ own baby boom, and it’s not just giant turtles and T-shirts. Children’s recording artists are suddenly a hot, marketable commodity.

If you know a 4-year-old, you’ve probably heard of Raffi, the megastar children’s singer from Canada, a multimillion seller, who’s gained a huge following in the United States during the last six years.

Not surprisingly, Raffi’s No. 1 spot is being pursued by an ever-growing list of musicians targeting the diaper-and-kindergarten crowd.

The music industry is taking notice--in a big way:

* On Saturday at 1:15 p.m., childrens’ singer/songwriter Fred Penner, perhaps third runner-up in preschooler popularity to his countryman Raffi, will headline at the 6,500-seat Universal Amphitheatre, that bastion of rock ‘n’ roll. Promoters say it is the first children’s event ever to be held at the venue.

* Penner recently signed with Triad Artists Inc., the booking agency for stars such as Whitney Houston and George Michael; it formed a children’s performing artists division late last year.

* A&M; Records has six childrens’ singers on its roster, including Penner; children’s records now make up about 4% of its total sales.

But, besides profits, a more human factor may be at work here, a reflection of the times.

The Universal Amphitheatre’s decision to book Fred Penner is “significant” because, said Triad agent David Snyder, “those who’ve been representing rock ‘n’ roll for 15 or 20 years now have kids.”

The 37-year-old Snyder puts himself in that category. His children are ages 2 and 6.

Larry Vallon, 43, executive vice president of MCA Concerts Inc., which owns and operates the Amphitheatre, says his 3-year-old daughter Kelly introduced him to Fred Penner “and the whole children’s music phenomenon. We suddenly had tapes at home of all these people,” he said. “Raffi; Sharon, Lois and Bram, and Fred (and others).”

Dad’s concert promoter instincts picked up on his daughter’s interest and resulted in the booking: “Fred Penner, to my mind, is one of the tops in entertainment value. . . . He’s a sophisticated musician, extremely listenable--even on a repeat basis,” Vallon said.

“I think children’s music is a force to be reckoned with,” he said, “judging by the number of new kids coming into the world.”

Chuck Gullo, vice president of Distributed Labels at A&M; Records, said the concert is “a great opportunity” for his company.

“The tour is a real key element,” he said. “The difference in pop and children’s marketing is that we don’t have the luxury of a radio-driven or hit-driven product.”

Still, having something to offer ages 2 and up is “a perfect situation,” said Gullo. “We can start with them very young; they get to age 10 and we can hand them off to our other A&M; artists. It is unique in one way: (Children) at age 2, starting their music habit of going to concerts and buying--or someone buying for them--music tapes and what not. I think it’s a real plus. We’re giving children a chance to be part of a fun business at an early age.”

Penner, backed up by a five-piece band, is noted for catchy original, contemporary and traditional songs mixed with a large dose of nonsense. He deals with “universal concepts that can be explored and built and played with,” such as pets, holidays and collecting things; he acknowledges the fact that half his audience is made up of parents with material aimed specifically at them.

Like Raffi, and the trio Sharon, Lois and Bram, the 43-year-old entertainer and father of three is a superstar in Canada, the winner of the Juneau Award, that country’s Grammy equivalent, and he has sold about 500,000 records worldwide--quite respectable for a children’s singer.

He’s still fairly new to audiences here, although his Canadian TV show, “Fred Penner’s Place,” airs weekdays on Nickelodeon, reaching an estimated “1.1 million people, age 2 and up,” according to Nickelodeon spokeswoman Linda Alexander.

A&M; Records launched its new children’s division six years ago with the signing of Raffi. It then picked up the other Canadian giants in the field. Since then the label has signed three U.S. singers: Tom Chapin, Frank Cappelli and California-based Linda Arnold.

Canadians have dominated the field, said Kevin Dulaney, A&M;’s director of children’s marketing, because “Canada is very family-oriented and they’ve been in and developed childrens’ (music) longer; because of the success of Raffi, Sharon, Lois and Bram and Penner, young adults who are having children are looking for a quality product for their children to listen to. (Dulaney, 31, is the father of a 2- and 4-year-old.)

“Now, it seems the U.S. is just booming with children’s artists,” he added. “We get about five submissions a day.”

But, how do you promote singers who are never played on the radio and whose fans aren’t old enough to cross the street alone, much less buy concert tickets?

Vallon, who hopes Penner’s concert will fill at least 3,000 of the Amphitheatre’s 6,500 seats, found himself bemused by new territory.

“What’s involved is an enormous amount of postering at places we don’t normally think of when postering for a concert,” he said. “The L.A. Zoo, the pony rides in Griffith Park and in Tarzana, the Santa Monica merry-go-round area, toy stores, Gymborees, pediatricians’ offices. We’re selling tickets at the Santa Monica Children’s Book and Music Store.”

He even put his wife and daughter to work. “The other day, my daughter said, ‘Dad, we need to put up more Fred Penner posters.’ ”

The heaviest advertising--radio spots, newspaper ads, Saturday morning TV and Nickelodeon spots--began seven to 14 days before the event, Vallon said, because “that’s when (parents) decide what they’ll be doing that particular weekend.”

“That’s when you determine whether you’re going to grandma’s, whether the kids are healthy--’cause God knows they’re prone to getting colds,” said Vallon.

By Thursday morning, more than 2,100 tickets had been sold at $14 each. Asked if he’ll bring more children’s concerts to the Amphitheatre, Vallon said: “I totally plan to. I’m already making plans to play Raffi and Sharon, Lois and Bram here.”

But to do that means overcoming one more problem he’s never faced before. Parking. “It’s difficult to play matinees, because of the overwhelming crowds at the Universal Studios Tour during the day,” Vallon said. So the site’s next children’s event will have to wait until after Labor Day.

As for the Penner concert, “My 4-month-old is too young, but Kelly is going to be absolutely enthralled. I plan to introduce her to Fred,” Vallon said with parental satisfaction. “That’s one of the advantages of being the daughter of a concert promoter.”