Courting the Gay Music Market

Gay music?

You know the stereotypes: show tunes, disco, glamorous pop divas.

Atlantic Records is convinced that the tastes of gay listeners are much broader than that--so much so that the company has taken the unprecedented step for a major label of creating a department to market music to gays and lesbians.

“It’s pioneering,” says Peter Galvin, who has just been appointed to the new position of vice president of product development/gay markets.

“We want to sell directly to the gay and lesbian community, using a network of record stores, clothing stores, restaurants that may have not carried these records before,” says Galvin, 32, who was music editor of Interview magazine before approaching Atlantic President Val Azzoli with his proposal for the gay marketing office.

The effort is being kicked off with four projects. Leading the way is the new album by Bette Midler, who started performing in Manhattan’s gay bathhouses and maintains a large gay following. The others are new albums by veteran singer-songwriter Bruce Roberts and newcomer Steven Kowalczyk and a greatest-hits package from one-time dance-pop queen Laura Branigan. Galvin says that the new department has already paid off, placing Branigan as a performer at closing ceremonies of a Boston-to-New York bike-athon benefiting AIDS organizations, with 15,000 people expected to attend.

The Atlantic executive also considers it his mission to expand the concept of gay musical tastes. “I don’t assume, as a gay person, that all gay people like one kind of music,” he says.

Galvin also hopes to bring to the mainstream artists who address the gay experience in their songs.

While he applauds such artists as Elton John, k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge for coming out of the closet, he points out that they still tend to leave their songs non-specific when it comes to sexual orientation.

Atlantic is currently offering a deal to one band that touches on the gay experience in some of its material: L.A.’s hard-edged rock band Extra Fancy, whose debut independent album, “Sinner Man,” was released this week.

Says Galvin, “It would be nice if gay people were exposed to more rock ‘n’ roll that spoke directly to the experience of being gay, whatever that means.”

William Waybourn, managing director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in Washington, calls the move a breakthrough.

“The attitude in our community is extreme brand loyalty when a company does something like this,” Waybourn says, naming Miller beer, Seagrams, Absolut, Naya water and AT&T; among those who have reached out to gay and lesbian consumers. “When this happens, we can do two things to show our support: One--buy the product, and two--buy the product.”