Popular music has become not only one of the most lucrative spheres of human activity, but also one of the most influential on the identities of individuals and communities. Popular music matters, and it matters to many people, people we can only partially understand if we do not understand their music.
In the light of this phenomenon the academic study of popular music has become universally established as an active discipline at university level and this timely series brings together the fruits of recent teaching and research in this field. It makes overt recognition of the fact that the study of popular music is necessarily inter-disciplinary and addresses issues as diverse as: the popular music industry and its institutions; aspects of the history of genres; issues in the theories and methodologies of study and practice; questions of the ontologies and hermeneutics of particular musics; the varying influence of different waves of technological development; the ways markets and audiences are constructed, reproduced and reached; and aspects of the repertory without which there would be no popular music to study. The eight volumes in this series span the range of the world’s popular music genres from rap, hip hop, soul and jazz, to roots, electronica, dance and club music. Each volume editor has contributed an introductory essay which constitutes a broad overview of the specific group of genres, and made a selection of the most important and influential published articles, papers and other relevant material. Taken together, these volumes offer an invaluable resource for the study of popular music today in all its forms.