Sustainable Practice in the Music Business

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Sustainable Practice in the Music Business.

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

This project invites applicants to address an aspect(s) of sustainability – environmental, economic, social or cultural – related to the music business. These are critical areas of research for music industry studies, as the sector continues to build back after the economic recession of 2008 and the current post-covid landscape. This project provides an excellent opportunity to review the ‘business-as-usual' approach, and to offer novel solutions to complicated social, cultural, economic and ecological problems. From niche DIY cottage artist practice to corporate approaches to production. From the consumption and re-consumption of the second-hand market for physical products to data storage and streaming. 

While the outputs of the project can be practical, written or a combination of both, the expectation is that relevant primary research is undertaken, and data is gathered in an appropriate industry context. Suggested areas of exploration can include the live music business (currently the area with the biggest environmental impact), formats (the sustainability of physical formats and/or streaming), the sustainability of the current structure or practices of any area of the industry, including gender, ethnicity, disability.   

Candidates are encouraged to develop proposals that seek to challenge received convention and industry standards that coalesce around innovative practice, critical research and sustainable creative futures.   

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.