When did techno music become popular?

The exact year techno gained popularity is debated, but it's generally believed that it emerged as an underground music scene in the late 1980s in Detroit. The genre was largely influenced by the electronic dance music scene of Europe and the African-American music of Detroit. Techno gained more mainstream recognition in the early 1990s with the popularity of electronic music in clubs and festivals. The term "techno" was first used in 1988 to describe the Detroit-based electronic music produced by artists like Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson, also known as the "Belleville Three".