MA in Popular Music at Western‏

MA in Popular Music and Culture
Western University
London, Ontario, Canada

The Faculty of Information and Media Studies and The Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada) are now accepting applications for our joint MA program in Popular Music and Culture. The due date for applications is 1 February 2013. Complete applications received by this date will be given priority consideration. Details are available here: http://www.fims.uwo.ca/acad_programs/grad/pmc.htm  Continue reading

Severn Pop Network Inaugural Conference

Call for papers
Severn Pop Network Inaugural Conference
The Small Economies of the ‘New’ Music Industry
University of Bristol
25 March 2013

The music industry is in a well-publicised state of upheaval. The emergence of digital reproductive technologies (such as CD burners and MP3s), of digital distribution and consumption technologies (such as the iPod, iTunes and Spotify), and of new social media (such as Myspace and Facebook) have radically disturbed established systems of production and consumption. The benefits of these changes have fallen unequally and most cultural commentary has focused on the problems caused to the global record industry. However, one of the distinctive features of the music industry is the continuity between localised ‘para-industrial acts’ and mainstream commercial practices. The importance of geographic and genre-based scenes means that small music economies have a greater significance for the structural organisation of the music industry than in other cultural industries: ‘in the music industry… the small is as significant as the big’ (Frith, 2000). Continue reading

Countercultures

New publication
Volume!
Popular Music and Countercultures

The first issue of the French edition of “Popular Music and Countercultures” is now out and online. Table of contents (with texts by Sheila Whiteley, Andy Bennett, Simon Warner, Giovanni Vacca, etc.): http://www.cairn.info/revue-volume-2012-1.htm

To purchase/subscribe from beyond France: http://volume.revues.org/1643

An English version of this issue will be published, with new papers, in 2013 by Ashgate.

Music and Environment Symposium

Call for papers
Music and Environment Symposium
University of Technology, Sydney
Friday 26 April 2013 (tbc)

Music relates to different types of environmental transformations: social, economic, political, cultural or technological, while environmental changes can be heard in music and soundscapes. There has been an increase in academic discourse relating to the ecology of sound, or ‘green music’, often in relation to the preservation of an environment’s sonority. Continue reading

International Club Health Conference

Club Health Conference on Nightlife & Substance Use
San Francisco
28-30 May 2013

The Club Health Conference on Nightlife & Substance Use will be invading San Francisco 28-30 May 2013. This will be the 8th annual gathering and the first time this event will take place in the United States. Come join us to present, discuss, and network on ideas for designing and implementing harm reduction policies at raves, clubs, large-scale festivals, and other entertainment settings around the world. Information on registration and presentation submissions is available at the official website.

Petition on Behalf of Musicians Union of Cameroon

At the request of the International Federation of Musicians, LabourStart has today launched a new online campaign in defense of the hundreds of members of the Musicians Union of Cameroon who were savagely attacked by police as they peacefully marched.

To learn more and to show your support for the musicians, please click here.

Please spread the word — forward this message to your fellow union members, friends and family — and to any musicians you know!