What are the characteristics of pop music? what sets this genre apart from other popular music?

Pop music tends to reflect musical trends rather than starting them.

Explanation:

Pop music usually termed just pop, is modern music and a general kind of popular music (separated from traditional or art music and of folk music). The name does not relate particularly to a particular genre or sound, and its definition is varied depending on the time and place. Within modern music, "pop music" is usually separated from different subgenres by stylistic characteristics such as a danceable beat or tempo, simple tunes and a perpetual composition which are suggestive of the songs of singers such as Karen Carpenter and Roberta Flack. Pop song hymns are frequently sensitive, linking to love or dancing.

that is true. stravinsky's rite of spring ballet is a prime example of with its focus on prehistoric culture, costumes, and dancing.