A common type of popular music which does not refer specifically to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending on the time and place. Within popular music, pop music is often distinguished from other subgenres by stylistic traits such as a danceable rhythm or beat, simple melodies and a repetitive structure. Pop song lyrics are often emotional, relating to love.

Pop music may include elements of rock, hip hop, reggae, dance, R&B, jazz, electronic, and sometimes folk music and various other styles. For example, in the 1920s-1950s pop music drew influence mainly from jazz, beginning in the 1950s from rock and R&B, and since the 1980s, from hip hop. The broad appeal of pop music is seen to distinguish it from more specific types of popular music, and pop music performers and recordings are among the best-selling and most widely known in many regions of the world. Today distributed by major record companies as part of a global music market, pop music often involves mass marketing through radio, television and other media.