The Future of Live Music

University of Central Lancashire,  Thursday 7^th June 2018

The development and mass manufacture of audio technology in the 20^th century accelerated the commodification of music that had developed in the 19^th century through the growing market for sheet music. From the post-world war 2 period to the end of the century the term ‘music industry’ could almost be taken as being synonymous with the recording industry.  However, more recently, in the wake of digital technologies, the value of the recording has arguably plummeted, both in terms of the financial reward it offers to artists and in the cultural capital it offers consumers.

At the same time the revenues from live music have greatly increased as ticket prices for live concerts have risen steeply and events such as music festivals have proliferated.  These rapid changes in the field of music have implications not only for the commercial strategies of music businesses, but for audiences, musicians and other creative practitioners.

The Future of Live Music  conference seeks to bring together ideas from a range of disciplines in music studies, including musicology, composition, performance, cultural theory, philosophy, media studies, sociology, and business studies to examine the constantly evolving live music landscape.

We encourage submissions on the areas of:

• The future of the live music industry: new trends, markets and practices.
• The economics of live music.
• Music Festivals
• Changes in the social consumption of music
• The DJ set – recorded music as a performance event
• Tribute bands
• Heritage act tours
• Live to media events
• Local live music scenes
• Live music and social media

Submission of abstracts

To submit a paper please contact the conference organisers  with an abstract of 200-300 words and a short bio by 31 March 2018.

Prof Ewa Mazierska ([email protected])
Dr Les Gillon ([email protected])
Tony Rigg ([email protected])