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Sociology of Music Thematic Group

Aims and Objectives

Year established: July 2023.

This thematic group aims to advance the sociological study of music and musical cultures. While modern popular music studies has its roots alongside cultural studies, sociological studies of music have served as core texts since the establishment of this interdisciplinary field. Further, older disciplines such as ethnomusicology offer some of the earliest research on the sociology of music, and as musical cultures are always deeply social in context, sociology is a primary vehicle through which to investigate and explore them. More specific than Cultural Sociology, the Sociology of Music is concerned with the structures, practices, and motivations for music-making, production and consumption, and the role of music in society.

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Members' News

TASA Thursday Session: The Sociology of Music in Action

Chair: Dr Ben Green (RMIT University)

First paper: Hannah Fairlamb (University of Melbourne), 'Gender, utopias, and DIY music scenes in Australia'

Second paper: Christie Bosworth (University of Wollongong), 'Stadiumism and homogenised music culture: Impact on grassroots music communities'

TASA Thursday Convenor: Penny Toth

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Members' Recent Publications

Books

Rosemary Hill, Bianca Fileborn, Catherine Strong (2025) Unsilenced: Women Musicians, Gender-Based Violence, and the Popular Music Industry. Bloomsbury.

Michael James Walsh (2024) Streaming Sounds: Music Listening in the Digital Age. Routledge.

Ben Green and Ian Rogers (2024) Screamfeeder's Kitten Licks. Bloomsbury 33 1/3 Oceania.

Sam Whiting (2023) Small Venues: Precarity, Vibrancy and Live Music.Bloomsbury.

Articles

Freya Langley (2025) ‘I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Camp Cope’: Forging feminist identities through music fandom. IASPM Journal 15(1).

Andy Bennett, Ernesta Sofija, Ben Green, Paula Guerra, Frances Howard & Ana Oliveira (2024) 'It's like a hug': examining the role of music-making for the well-being of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Youth Studies, DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2024.2305911

Steven Threadgold (2023) Youthful culture: Immaterial labour, co-optation and the space between IRL young people and their conceptual doppelgangers. DIY, Alternative Cultures & Society 1(1): 95-107.

Steven Threadgold (2023) What comes after fields, capitals, habitus? Suggestions for future cultural consumption research in Australia. Journal of Sociology 59(2): 300-309.

The Conversation and media

Ben Green and Catherine Strong (2024) The climate crisis is crushing Australian festivals. 360info (syndicated), 19 March.

Charlotte Markowitsch (2024) Kiss’s debut album at 50: how the rock legends went from 'clowns' to becoming immortalised. The Conversation, 16 February.

Sam Whiting and Ben Green (2024) Why are so many Australian music festivals being cancelled? The Conversation, 15 February.

Ben Green (2024) 6 tips to maximise your concert experience, from a live music expert. The Conversation, 13 February.

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Sociology of Music Resources

Details coming soon.