Two years ago (Fall 2022), I posted a CFP for a project that Dr. Ryan Nolan and I were working on. Today, I’m happy to announce the publication of the Handbook of Critical Music Industry Studies. It was a big task and I had no idea how much effort would go into editing 35 essays. A special thank you to Dr. Robin James, our editor at Palgrave – Robin is a leading scholar in Popular Music Studies and we could not have done this without her.
About this book
The Handbook of Critical Music Industry Studies provides students and researchers with the means to think about how the performance, recording, and publishing of music could be if we do things differently. People are hungry for a more equitable music performance and recording system. The industry exudes patriarchy, white supremacy, cultural imperialism, ableism, and worker exploitation. In the context of gendered (e.g., #MeToo and #TimesUp) and racialized (e.g., Black Lives Matter) inequity, rampant precarity and casualization, and modes of musical dissemination that are changing faster than policymakers and regulatory bodies can keep up with, the timing for assembling such an interdisciplinary collection could not be more appropriate. Essays in this handbook will tackle power structures at root in the music industry and the academic study of the field. Topics covered include the politics of representation and power in the global music industries, the labor of music, music as media (including data and algorithmic culture), and copyright/intellectual property, among others.
Table of Contents with Free Links!
- Introduction: Why We Need Critical Music Industry Studies By David Arditi and Ryan Nolan be/dVCNv
Music, Labor and Exploitation
- Tips, Tourists, and Musical Labor on Beale Street By Lydia Warren be/dVCTc
- Masters and Slaves: Black Artists and the Ownership of Sound Recording Copyright By Richard Osborne be/dVCTj
- Pressing Reset: Reimagining Performer and Songwriter Revenues in the Contemporary Music Industry By Chris Anderton and James Hannam be/dVCTF
- Beyond the Sea: The Labour of Cruise Ship Musicians By David Cashman be/dVCTM
- Record Contracts: Recording Artists, Work, and Exploitation By David Arditi be/dVCM5
- Mothering: The Epicentre of Gender Gapping? By Clare Duffin be/dVCUw
- Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire: Music Education, Mental Health, and Our Students’ Futures By George Musgrave be/dVCRL
- The Care Work of Musical Fields By Athena Elafros and Christopher Churchill be/dVCUX
- Solidarity Under Monopoly and Labor Withdrawal in the Music Industry By Adam Zendel be/dVCU4
- Exploring the Origins of Digital Burnout in the Music Industries and What to Do About It By Christopher Woods and Jack Davis be/dVCU8
Music and Technology: From Radio to Algorithmic Gatekeepers
- Amplifying Value: Labor, Technology, and Creativity in the Jingle Industry By Ravi Krishnaswami be/dVCVo
- “The Numbers Don’t Lie!”: Metrics as Tools for Decision Making and Strategic Planning in Music Industry Organizations By Ingrid Tolstad be/dVCVE
- Sorted: Categorisation and Genre in Contemporary Music Business By Simon Poole be/dVCVG
- Music after COVID-19: Capital, Performance, and Sharing By Matthew David be/dVCVK
- Formatting Race on Commercial Radio Stations By Amy Coddington be/dVCVX
- Surveillance of and through Music By Eric Drott be/dVCV6
Cultural Production and Consumption
- The Establishment of K-Pop: K-Pop’s Main Characteristics By Gyu Tag Lee be/dVCV8
- Dance Music Reckonings: Authenticity, Whiteness, and Toxic Masculinity By Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo be/dVCWb
- Underground Hip Hop: A Critical Consideration of Subgenre and Scene(s) By Anthony Kwame Harrison be/dVCWi
- Music PR: A Hidden History By Ellis Jones and Bethany Klein be/dVCWs
- Whoopin’ For the Innanet: Exploring YouTube Vlogs as Reputation Building Intermediaries for Artists in Chicago’s Drill Rap Scene By Jabari Evans be/dVCWy
- Catalogue Acquisitions: Who Wins? By Steve Collins and Sarah Keith be/dVCWU
- How the Music Industries Killed “Selling Out”: Autopsy of a Concept By Bethany Klein be/dVCWV
- Strength in Numbers: How Young Artists Navigate Racial Stereotypes in the Rap Industry By Mike D’Errico be/dVCWZ
- Standing in the Way of Control: The Vinyl Revival, the Record Industry, and Record Store Day By Veronica Skrimsjö be/dVCXd
- Redefining Liverpool’s Purpose as a Music City: Identifying the Cultural, Demographic and Geographic Challenges to a Career in Music for Liverpool’s Black Community By Mathew Flynn be/dVCXo
Alternatives Through Cultural Policy
- Misogyny in Music: Actors, Business, and Law By Vick Bain and Metka Potočnik be/dVCXt
- Popular Music in France and Action Culturelle When Musicians Become Cultural Policy Agents By Jacopo Costa be/dVCXv
- ‘A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats’: On a Musician’s Minimum Rate, Cultural Labour, and the Live Music Sector By Sam Whiting be/dVCXP
- Music Declares an Emergency: Music Industry Studies in the Context of a Changing Climate By Ryan Nolan be/dVCXT
- ‘It’s Not the Females’ Job, It’s Everybody’s Job’: Gender-Related Experiences and Challenges in Popular Music Higher Education and the Music Industry By Helen Elizabeth Davies be/dVCYi
- The Music Industry Does Exist By Toby Bennett be/dVCYz
- What Is Music Business Management?: A Critical Conversation on Music, Knowledge, and Power in the University By Sally Anne Gross and Toby Bennett be/dVCYY
- How Working Musicians (Finally) Became a Matter of Mainstream Political Interest By David Hesmondhalgh and Hyojung Sun be/dVCY5