CfP: Journal of Live Music Studies (Deadline 10.04.2026)D
General Call for Papers
Update: the deadline for submissions is 10 April 2026. Please use the ‘submit’ button on the journal homepage to submit your articles.
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new academic journal: the Journal of Live Music Studies (JLMS):
JLMS is a double-anonymized peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes original interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research that advances the broad field of live music studies. All genres, geographies, and positionalities are welcome in relation to music events from the smallest concerts to the largest festivals, and from a variety of theoretical and methodological viewpoints.
We invite the submission of original articles on topics including, but not limited to:
Composition: Composing and arranging music for live performances, including commissioned works, and pieces tailored to specific venues and settings.
Performance: Examining the musical and gestural practices of musicians in live events and festivals, and the interactions of performers, audiences and technical crews.
Production: Exploring the backstage and onstage practices of the many people involved in managing venues, events, festivals, and tours, including lighting and sound engineers, road crew, tour managers, and other personnel involved in the logistical execution of live music events.
Staging: Exploring how creative elements such as visuals, stage design, choreography, lighting, and screen content are conceived and coordinated to shape meaning and enhance the overall impact of a music performance.
Mediation: Analysing how live music events of all kinds may be represented and transformed through media coverage, livestreams, and recording, and how these practices influence audience perceptions and engagement, and the notion of 'liveness'.
Technology: Assessing how developments in technology have shaped both the experience and production of live music events and festivals, historically and in emerging contexts, and what these shifts reveal about evolving notions of authenticity and presence.
Working in live music: Exploring and analysing the workplace environment, job roles and responsibilities, labour conditions and mental health of personnel involved in a high-pressure, often precarious sector.
Sustainability: Considering how venues, events, festivals, and tours contribute to enhanced understandings of environmental sustainability, the reduction of harmful emissions, and the assessment of potential solutions, as well as addressing the challenges that make some live music practices unsustainable.
Accessibility: Evaluating how live music events can become more inclusive and welcoming to diverse audiences, fostering broader participation in music culture.
Wellbeing: Exploring the role of the live music sector in promoting emotional, psychological and social wellbeing among audiences, performers and event workers.
Audience experience: Understanding how audiences engage with live performance – physically, emotionally, and digitally – and how fan practices and expectations are evolving in response to cultural and technological shifts.
Business: Investigating the strategic, legal and financial aspects of the live music sector, including contracts, ticketing, marketing, legal disputes, economic sustainability, showcase events, branding and sponsorship, and the challenges and opportunities faced by musicians, venues and event owners.
Politics: Considering the ways live music is mobilized for political expression and influence, including performances and events that engage with social justice movements, community activism, protest, or broader ideological debates.
Policy: Examining the role of public and private institutions, lobbying efforts, and regulatory frameworks that shape the live music ecosystem – including funding structures, licensing, urban planning, and governmental strategies affecting venues, festivals, and musicians.
Tourism: Examining how music aligns with the tourism objectives of city and state bodies in terms of the experiential economy, financial boosterism, and branding initiatives such as 'City of Music' designations.
Culture: Reflecting on the cultural significance of live music in specific regions or communities, and how it contributes to discourses on identity, collective memory, artistic practice, and the evolving meanings of music in everyday life.
Original articles should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words (inclusive of references and notes). JLMS also publishes book reviews, conference reports, translations and features a section titled 'Industry Insights'.
Book reviews (800–1,200 words) and conference reports (up to 1,000 words) present critical reflections relevant to the journal’s scope.
Translations to English of significant texts related to live music studies are welcome, provided the translator secures permission and includes a brief introductory note.
Industry Insights (up to 3,000 words) includes reports or essays by practitioners or industry organizations that foster dialogue across sectors and contribute to cultural and policy discussions globally.
All submissions must adhere to the Intellect Style Guide and further information for contributors can be found here.
The language of the journal is English.
The first issue is expected to be published in late 2026.
We look forward to receiving your articles, and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the journal: chris.anderton[at]solent[dot]ac[dot]uk or sergio.pisfil[at]upc[dot]pe
Further information may be found here.