Study Group “Popular Music”
Mission Statement
Until the end of the eighteenth century, (urban) popular music shared spaces, instruments, genres, and even musicians with classical music. However, during the nineteenth century, both music practices began to diverge, particularly with the rise of a robust entertainment industry and the advent of the recorded sound.
Musicology largely overlooked popular music, which composers like Schumann had dismissed as trivial, and often labeled as commercial, fashionable, or juvenile—terms that served to undermine its value. However, with the emergence of a generation of researchers who had experienced the impact of rock and the folk revival of the sixties in their youth, the so-called “scholar fans,” an interest in studying this recorded music from a musicological perspective was born in the seventies, as the social sciences and humanities had already been doing so.
In this study group, we promote the study of popular music from a global perspective. Our focus will encompass not only the theoretical and stylistic aspects of popular music but also explore the relationships between music, sound, and performance (vocality, musical personae), as well as their connections to history, culture, and society (the music industry, fandom). Through this study group, we aim to foster dialogue among musicologists from diverse parts of the world who share an interest in the study of popular music, both in the present and throughout history.
Chair
Juan Pablo González (CL/CO)
Contact
Link
Reports
For a report of recent activities, as well as older reports, see the IMS Publication Archive.