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1st IASPM conference
The 1st international IASPM conference held in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in 1981. The conference focused on defining popular music, defending that it is a legitimate branch of musicology. A lot of discussions were focused on the differences of the western world and the communist countries. Amongst the participants were Charles Hamm, Roger Wallis, Alenka Barber-Kersovan, Simon Frith and executive committee members Franco Fabbri, Paul Oliver, Sylvia Moore and others. -
'Pop Music and its Role in the Community'
An International symposium on popular music was held in Manila. Organised jointly by UNESCO, the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) and the Cultural Centre of the Philippines. Two IASPM delegates, Gerard Kempers and David Horn, attended the symposium and gave presentations. -
Exeter Symposium
A weekend symposium entitled ‘Popular Music Research in the UK’ held at the University of Exeter. Speakers - Simon Frith, Dave Harker, Sebastian Clark and Mary Harron. -
IASPM Canada branch formed
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Keele Conference
The very first conference organised solely by IASPM UK. It was held at the University of Keele and attracted more than 50 attendees. The subject of the conference was 'Popular Music in Britain'. During the conference the discussions revolved around new technologies, video technology in particular.
Also spoke about BBC and popular music in 30s and 40s as well as women in popular music: the case of Helen Shapiro. -
1st IASPM US Symposium
The first IASPM US conference was held in Dartmouth, NH. It was a great success as more than 50% of the American membership of IASPM attended. On the 13th of May it was decided to start American branch of IASPM and on the 14th of May the committee was chosen. Charles Hamm and Martin Hatch were chosen as chairmen. -
German-speaking meeting
During the meeting it was decided not to launch an official branch of IASPM in the Federal Republic, but to initiate a German working group. -
'Sociology of Music'
'The sociology of music: an exploration of issues' conference held in Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada -
2nd IASPM conference
The 2nd international IASPM conference 'What Is Popular Music?' was held in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Discussed whether it is possible to define popular music. While some tried to answer the question, some said it is ok to leave it unanswered. Much of the conference focused on pop music social context rather than on popular music content. Discussed popular music relations to folk music, Western European classical music and Afro American pop music, bourgeois and proletarian values. -
'Singers and Songwriters'
IASPM US symposium 'Singers and Songwriters: Their Contribution to Society, The Popular Arts and Culture'. The conference held in Las Vegas. Discussed folk and black music contribution. -
'Popular Music and Educational Possibilities of Transmition in Education and Cultural Work'
The conference was held in Hamburg (Germany). Discussed the rise of popular music and the lack of education in it. -
'What Is Good Pop Music?
The conference 'What Is Good Pop Music? was held at Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon. Organised by IASPM UK. The conference discussed values in popular music research. -
European Year of Music
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BOX POP!
One day conference on the production, consumption and meaning of promotional pop videos. Organised jointly by IASPM UK and the Society for Education in Film and Television (SEFT). Held at the Tyneside Cinema and Newcastle Polytechnic. -
3rd IASPM conference
The 3rd international IASPM conference 'Popular Music: Practice and Theory' held in Montreal, Canada. The conference discussed effects of technological developments, popular music around the world and youth music. New executive committee elected: Klevor Abo, Georgina Born, Marcus Breen, Franco Fabbri, Jan Fairley, Line Grenier, Lawrence Grossberg, Antoine Hennion, David Horn, Anna De Leon, Gunter Mayer, Paul Rutten, Arnold Shaw, John Shepherd, Idalberto Suco. -
German branch established
German branch, officially 'Arbeitskreis Studium Music, Sektion Bundesrepublik der International Association for the study of Popular Music'. -
Popular Music Research Center
The formation of the Popular Music Research Center at the University of Las Vegas was announced by Arnold Shaw. Main functions were to preserve and study books, magazines, files, records and manuscripts related to popular music. -
'Music Making in the 80s'
IASPM UK held its first National Conference at the Triangle Arts Centre, Birmingham. -
'Popular Music Aesthetics'
A day conference held at the National Sound Archive. Speakers: Simon Frith, John Shepherd, Janet Wolff. -
IASPM Norden
Nordic branch of IASPM formed -
Japanese IASPM established
Following the Montreal conference, the Japanese branch was established, Shuhei Hosokawa was elected as a secretary of the branch and Etsuko Okashi as a treasurer. -
4th IASPM conference
The 4th international IASPM conference 'Africa in the World of Popular Music' was held in Accra, Ghana. A lot of attention paid to African music and its influence on popular music across the world. New executive committee elected: Klevor Abo, Alenka Barber-Kersovan, Marcus Breen, Jan Fairley, Umberto
Fiori, Reebee Garofalo, Line Grenier, Charles Hamm, Antoine Hennion, Shuhei Hosokawa, Stan Rijven, Paul Rutten, Idalberto Suco, Philip Tagg, Peter Wicke. -
1st Australian Popular Music Seminar
The music department of the University of New England and the Northern Rovers College of advanced Education at Lismore, jointly organised the First Australian Popular Music Seminar. Around 20 participants gathered at this seminar. The seminar discussed aboriginal popular music styles, Australian styles, tribal culture-based styles and rock-reggae-country mixtures. -
'Popular Music in Nordic Countries'
The 1st symposium of the IASPM-Nordic branch held in Helsinki. -
'Putting On the Style'
Annual IASPM UK conference held at Oxford Polytechnic. -
Pop Archief Nederland
Conference held in Amsterdam to announce the formation of Pop Archief Nederland (PAN) - Popular Music Archive. -
5th IASPM conference
The 5th international IASPM conference was held in Paris. The conference was held under the tricolore of '1789-1989: Music, history, democracy'. Discussions revolved around copyright and music & national identity. Working party: Georgina Born, David Horn, Gunter Mayer. New executive committee elected: Simon Frith, Line Grenier, Paul Rutten, John Shepherd, Peter Wicke. -
New IASPM house journal
IASPM announced that it will start a house journal, partnered up with a publisher from GDR. Aimed to provide its members with an outlet for their work which reflected the geo-cultural and intellectual makeup of the organization. -
Bulgarian branch starts
After announcing Bulgarian IASPM formation in the summer of 1988, the branch started its work in 1990 -
IASPM UK conference
Annual IASPM conferece, that year it was focused on teaching Popular Music. Held at Institute of Popular Music University of Liverpool. New Committee was elected: Jan Fairley (chair), Simon Frith, Sara Cohen, Sarah Thornton, John Street, Greg Holt, Annie Makepeace. -
'New Music World'
The seminar was held in Glasgow (1990 Europe's City of Culture). The seminar discussed questions such as 'Is there a place for European Indie labels in the USA?', 'Are the current changes on broadcasting a help or a hindrance to the promotion fo new music?', 'Do Scottish artists need to move to London when seeking success?'. The conference was attended by many IASPM members. Panellists: Bruce Findlay, James Brown, Una Johnston, Jon Savage, Jari Muikku, Brenda Kelly, Bill Drummond. -
10th Anniversary of IASPM
‘IASPM has spent ten years trying to stop becoming the academic organisation it now is’ - Simon Frith -
6th IASPM conference
The 6th international IASPM conference 'Popular Music and Social Reality' was held in Berlin. Program committee: Peter Wicke (chair), Simon Frith, Reebee Garofalo, Line Grenier, Paul Rutten, John Shepherd. -
'Hit Music in the Netherlands, 1960-1985'
Paul Rutten completes his PhD thesis 'Hit Music in the Netherlands, 1960-1985' - the first PhD thesis on popular music ever completed in the Netherlands. -
'Popular Music - The Primary Text'
Conference held at the Polytechnic of West London in Ealing. This was the first time an IASPM UK conference was devoted explicitly to musicology. The 'texts' discussed ranged from Prince to Czech rock and from Yes to the blues. -
1st academic course on popular music in Japan
Post-graduate programme in music formed at Kanazawa University, including practically the first academic course in popular music studies in Japan. -
IASPM-Benelux conference
Mini-conference on Popular Music research perspective, starting points and questions marking 10 years of IASPM-Benelux. -
7th IASPM conference
The 7th international IASPM conference 'Popular Music: Style and Identity' held at University of Pacific, Stockton, California. Executive Committee elected: Toru Mitsui (chair), Simon Frith, Steve Jones, Sarah Cohen, Will Straw, Ales Opekar. -
IASPM email launched
University of Tulsa provided IASPM with a platform to start their own mailing list. Email address IASPM-list@dylan.cir.utulsa.edu was used to start the IASPM network. -
European Routes Conference
European Routes Conference was held in Liverpool University, Institute of Popular Music. Sponsored by Liverpool's Institute of Popular Music and IASPM UK. Conference themes were based around different types of movement including migration, tourism, colonialism, media, trade, language. -
IASPM Slovenia
Slovene branch of IASPM was founded. -
8th IASPM conference
The 8th international IASPM conference 'Music on Show: Issues of performance' was held in Glasgow. New Executive Committee elected: Toru Mitsu (chair), Ales Opekar, Tony Mitchell, Helmi Jarviluoma. -
'Step Across the Border'
Conference 'Step Across the Boarder undertaken by German IASPM and ASPM (Arbeiskreis Studium Populaerer Musik) and audiovisual communications department. Discussed global music, folk music, musical changes and the media. -
'Popular Music: Aesthetics Versus Sociology'
One-day conference jointly organised by IASPM UK and the Critical Musicology Group. Held at Oxford Brookes University. -
'Voice, Space and Time'
IASPM Canada held an annual conference 'Voice, Space and Time'. The conference discussed DJs, Hip-Hop, dance clubs, gender. -
'Problems and Cases of Latin American Popular Music'
The 2nd Latin American IASPM conference in Santiago, Chille. Talked about Chillian musicians, rock performers and social events. -
9th IASPM conference
The 9th international IASPM conference 'Popular Music: Intercultural Interpretations' held in Kanazawa, Japan. New executive committee elected: Tony Mitchell (chair), Motti Regev, David Hesmondhalgh, Heinz-Peter Katlewski, Anna Szemere. -
'The Impact of Globalisation on Music Culture'
The conference was held in Calcutta, India. The primary aim of the meeting was to explore the impact of globalisation on a range of music cultures and the strategies that have emerged from engaging and adapting to this process. -
'PopTech Online: Are You Experienced?'
Salford University's Music Department (UK) hosted a conference 'PopTech Online: Are You Experienced?', the conference was made available online real-time. -
'Popular Music: Past and Future'
IASPM UK conference 'Popular Music: Past and Future'. Held at the University of Liverpool. -
'For What It's Worth: Institution & Popular Music'
IASPM US conference 'For What It's Worth: Institution & Popular Music - Institutionalizing Popular Music'. Held at the University of California, LA. -
10th IASPM conference
The 10th international IASPM conference held in Sydney, Australia. New Executive Committee elected: Anahid Kassabian (first female chair), Sheila Whiteley, Keith Harris, Heinz-Peter Katlewski, Claire Levy, Henri Terho, Steve Jones. -
'Current Trends in Popular Music Research'
IASPM Nordic section arranged its branch meeting on Oslo. Symposium entitled 'Current Trends in Popular Music Research' discussed how to conduct research. -
'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough: Popular Music Demands'
IASPM US annual meeting in Murfreesboro/Tennessee. -
'(Pre)millennial Tensions: Pop Music at the Precipice'
IASPM Canada conference discussed American music cultures, musical taste and cultural policy and politics. -
'The Popular Musician: Performance, Poetics, Power'
IASPM UK conference 'The Popular Musician: Performance, Poetics, Power'. IASPM UK becomes IASPM UK & Ireland. New Committee elected: Andy Bennett (chair), Miriam Crozier, Paul Hodkinson, Marion Leonard. -
11th IASPM conference
The 11th international IASPM conference 'Looking Back, Looking Ahead. Popular Music Studies 20 Years Later' held in Turku, Finland. New Executive Committee: Anahid Kassabian (chair), Clair Levy, Marion Leonard, Jan Hemming, Sheila Whiteley, Shuhei Hosokawa. First committee to be dominated by females. -
'Sounds of the City'
IASPM Canada conference 'Sounds of the City'. Discussed street sounds, dance music, reclaiming abandoned city spaces, city sound on screen. IASPM Canada seemed to keep up with the trends throughout the years. -
'Popular Music Studies: Where Now?'
IASPM UK & Ireland conference 'Popular Music Studies: Where Now?' held at the University of Newcastle. The conference discussed popular music commerce, teaching, understanding. During the conference it was said that 'popular music studies is now a firmly established academic discipline'. -
12th IASPM conference
The 12th international IASPM conference 'Practicing Popular Music' held in Montreal, Canada. New executive committee elected: Claire Levy (chair), Shuhei Hosokawa, Marion Leonard, Geoff Stahl, Franco Fabbri. -
'Popular Music: Issues of Culture and State
IASPM UK & Ireland conference 'Popular Music: Issues of Culture and State' held at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick. After altering the name to IASPM UK & Ireland, it was decided to hold the conference in Ireland. Martin Cloonan was elected as the new chair. -
13th IASPM conference
The 13th international IASPM conference 'Making Music, Making Meaning' held in Rome, Italy. New executive committee elected: Franco Fabbri (chair), Shane Homan, Michael Drewett, Geoff Stahl, Martha Tupinambá de Ulhôa. -
'The Futures of Music'
IASPM UK & Ireland conference 'The Futures of Music' held at the University of Birmingham. It also coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Popular Music Journal, and was therefore a milestone of sorts for the popular musicologists of these shores. The conference consisted of 38% female speakers and 62% male. 72% of speakers were from UK/Ireland and 28% from further afield. -
14th IASPM conference
The 14th conference was held in Mexico City, Mexico. New committee elected: Geoff Stahl (chair), Shane Homan, Michael Drewett, Carlo Nardi, Martha Tupinambá de Ulhôa. -
'Popular Music Studies: Problems, Disputes, Questions'
IASPM UK & Ireland conference 'Popular Music Studies: Problems, Disputes, Questions' held at the University of Glasgow. Executive board elected: Mark Percival, Violeta Mayer, Catherine Baker, Simon Poole, Martin Cloonan, Simon Barber. -
15th IASPM conference
The 15th international IASPM conference 'Popular Music World, Popular Music Histories' held at the University of Liverpool, UK. New Executive Committee elected: Jan Fairley (chair), Helmi Järviluoma, Michael Drewett, Violeta Mayer, Carlo Nardi, Héctor Fouce. -
IASPM UK & Ireland conference
IASPM UK & Ireland conference held at the University of Cardiff. -
IASPM US Twitter
IASPM US creates its official Twitter account @IASPMUS. -
16th IASPM conference
The 16th international IASPM conference 'Situating Popular Musics' held in Grahamstown, South Africa. New Executive Committee elected: Martha Tupinambá de Ulhôa (chair), Carlo Nardi, Violeta Mayer, Laura Francisca Jordán González, Ed Montano, Héctor Fouce, Sara Jansson.
