New Wave Music

New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles that emerged in the mid- to late 1970s as a lighter and more melodic "broadening of punk culture". The term was coined by Sire Records founder Seymour Stein as a catch-all for musical styles that emerged after punk rock and ultimately encompassed many contemporary popular music styles, including synth-pop, alternative dance and post-punk.

New wave commercially peaked during the late 1970s into the early 1980s with an abundance of one-hit wonders. In 1981, the MTV channel was launched, which heavily promoted and popularized new-wave acts in the United States. While regional new wave scenes developed across Europe, particularly the Netherlands' ultra, Germany's Neue Deutsche Welle, Spain's La Movida Madrileña, France, Poland and Belgium's coldwave, as well as the Yugoslav new wave. Additionally, the movement inspired subgenres such as minimal wave and darkwave.