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| Popular music studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Popular music studies |
| Subdiscipline of | Cultural studies; Musicology |
| Related | Ethnomusicology; Media studies; Sociology |
Popular music studies Popular music studies is an interdisciplinary field examining the creation, distribution, reception, and meaning of commercially oriented music within societies. Scholars draw on methods from Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Cultural studies, Sociology, Media studies and History to analyze artists, institutions, technologies, and audiences across regions such as United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Brazil and Nigeria.
The field defines its object around commercially circulated genres, celebrity figures, and industries exemplified by acts like The Beatles, Madonna (entertainer), Beyoncé Knowles and labels like Motown and Island Records. It interrogates production and reception contexts involving corporations such as Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, venues like Carnegie Hall and CBGB, and events including the Glastonbury Festival, Woodstock (1969) and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Geographic and transnational scopes cover scenes in Liverpool, Detroit, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and Accra as well as diasporic networks tied to migrations like the Great Migration (African American history).
Origins trace to scholarly attention in mid-20th century humanities and social sciences reacting to the commercial rise of artists such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry (musician), to the institutionalization of study through programs at UCLA, University of Liverpool and Goldsmiths, University of London. Key historical moments include the emergence of journalistic criticism at publications like Rolling Stone (magazine), the academy’s response exemplified by conferences at British Library and the establishment of journals such as Popular Music (journal). Technological shifts—vinyl, cassette, compact disc, digital downloads and platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud—have each prompted new scholarly phases paralleled by legal contests involving laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Methodologies combine score analysis from Arnold Schoenberg-influenced traditions with fieldwork strategies from Alan Lomax and participant-observation used by researchers influenced by Bronisław Malinowski-style ethnography. Quantitative techniques employ citation of chart data from Billboard (magazine), statistical modeling also used in studies referencing datasets from institutions like the British Phonographic Industry and the Recording Industry Association of America. Discourse analysis draws on theory from Stuart Hall and Theodor W. Adorno, while archival research works with collections at Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution and university archives such as Bodleian Library.
Major themes include identity and representation in works by figures like Janet Jackson, Prince (musician), K-pop ensembles such as BTS (band), race and inequality in contexts of Motown and Stax Records, gender and performance with reference to David Bowie and Lauryn Hill (singer), and class and labor within touring circuits tied to promoters like Live Nation Entertainment. Other topics encompass technology and sound studies linked to inventions by Thomas Edison and companies such as EMI, globalization and cultural imperialism in relations involving MTV and Nippon Columbia, fan cultures exemplified by Beatlemania, and legal-economic topics like cases involving Apple Corps v. Apple Computer.
Programs and centers host research at institutions including University of Oxford, Harvard University, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Liverpool and Goldsmiths, University of London. Professional organizations and conferences include the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, the Society for Ethnomusicology panels on popular music, and meetings at venues like Royal Festival Hall. Journals and presses such as Journal of Popular Music Studies, Popular Music (journal), Oxford University Press and Routledge publish monographs and edited collections.
Canonical works and authors include Theodor W. Adorno’s critiques, Simon Frith’s foundational texts, John F. G. Fuller-style historical studies, and monographs by Angela McRobbie, Richard Middleton (musicologist), Philip Auslander, David Brackett, and Derrick Bell-adjacent scholarship on race. Notable books and articles include titles published by Cambridge University Press and University of California Press that address artists such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Nirvana (band), Miles Davis and Bob Dylan.
Debates center on methodological legitimacy between positivist chart-based studies referencing Billboard (magazine) and qualitative ethnographies in the tradition of Alan Lomax; contradictions over canonicity involving publications like Rolling Stone (magazine) and institutional gatekeeping at entities such as Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and ethical concerns about cultural appropriation discussed with respect to interactions between Paul Simon and Béla Bartók-style folk collectors, or controversies involving Kanye West (musician) and sampling law adjudicated under statutes like the Copyright Act of 1976.