The term "gay music" is hardly derogatory -- it is simply a way to categorize all the music that is made specifically for a gay audience by gay musicians. Certainly, there have been gay musicians throughout recording history, from Noel Coward to Bob Mould, yet they usually don't identify themselves as "gay" -- they wrote for a broad audience. Gay music is different because it is music written and performed by gay musicians for a gay audience. Frequently, the music takes familiar forms, whether it's dance or punk, and adds homosexual themes. At times, the music is campy, at times it is sober, but it's all distinguished by its independence (almost all of the music is released and distributed by the artists themselves) and its ideology.