IASPM Official

What IASPM Official does

IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) is an international academic non-profit association founded in 1981 and headquartered in Liverpool, United Kingdom, though it operates as a distributed organization with no fixed headquarters. It serves popular music scholars, researchers, and students through a portfolio of scholarly products and services: the peer-reviewed open-access IASPM Journal (published at iaspmjournal.net), biennial international conferences rotating globally (most recently Minneapolis 2023, Paris 2025, Wellington 2027), the IASPM Book Prize for outstanding first books, the Andrew Goodwin Memorial Prize for postgraduate essays, the Research Seminar Series, and a network of 16+ regional branches covering ANZ, Benelux, Canada, D-A-CH, Francophone, Italia, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Norden, Portugal, Southeast Asia, Spain, Turkey, UK/Ireland, and USA.

The organization's underlying technology is conventional academic infrastructure: a WordPress-based website (iaspm.net), an open-access e-journal platform, email mailing lists (global and per-branch), and a multi-platform social media presence including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, and WeChat. The IASPM Communications Committee, established January 2021, curates mailing list content for social distribution. There are no proprietary AI, machine learning, or software products.

IASPM generates revenue through two primary streams: annual membership fees (required of all conference presenters, with fees varying by branch) and conference registration fees. Discounted registration is available for students, adjuncts, contingent, and unwaged scholars. The organization employs approximately 12 people and is governed by an Executive Committee. The customer base consists of individual academics (university professors, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students) across musicology, ethnomusicology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and sound studies; no enterprise customer logos or institutional revenue anchors are disclosed.

Name

IASPM Official

Legal name

International Association for the Study of Popular Music

Website

https://iaspm.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IASPM is an international academic non-profit association founded in 1981 that serves popular music scholars, researchers, and students worldwide through biennial conferences, a peer-reviewed open-access journal, regional branches in 16+ countries, and scholarly awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJABAK

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Educational & Academic Publishing (Textbooks, Scholarly, STM)

Keywords

• Popular music studies
• Academic conferences
• Peer-reviewed journal
• Scholarly association
• Music research network

Headquarters

HQ city

No fixed headquarters

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: IASPM generates revenue through annual membership fees. The association has multiple international branches and members must belong to a branch of IASPM to participate in conferences.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue generated from conference registration fees for the biennial international conferences and other organized events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IASPM is an international academic membership association that promotes scholarly research in popular music studies. It delivers value through a peer-reviewed open-access journal, biennial international academic conferences, scholarly prizes, a research seminar series, and a global network of 16+ regional branches. Revenue is generated primarily through annual membership fees paid to regional branches and conference registration fees, with discounted rates for students, adjuncts, contingent, and unwaged scholars.

Product overview

IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) is a global academic association rather than a technology company. Its offerings consist of scholarly products and services including the IASPM Journal (a peer-reviewed open-access e-journal), biennial international conferences, the IASPM Book Prize for outstanding first books, the Andrew Goodwin Memorial Prize for postgraduate essays, the Research Seminar Series, and membership through local branches worldwide. The organization does not offer commercial products or software; its portfolio centers on academic publications, conferences, awards, and professional networking infrastructure for popular music researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IASPM Journal: Peer-reviewed open-access e-journal of IASPM publishing research in popular music studies at global and local levels.
• IASPM Book Prize
• Andrew Goodwin Memorial Prize
• Research Seminar Series

Products and services

• IASPM Journal Peer-reviewed open-access e-journal of IASPM publishing research and analysis in popular music studies at global and local levels.
• IASPM Biennial International Conference IASPM's flagship event bringing together popular music scholars worldwide, rotating across international locations; recent conferences include Paris 2025 and Wellington 2027.
• IASPM Book Prize Public award for outstanding first books by single authors on popular music, presented at conferences in English and other language categories.
• Andrew Goodwin Memorial Prize Prize of GBP 1,000 (plus GBP 500 for runner-up) awarded for the best essay by a postgraduate student on any aspect of popular music, administered by IASPM UK and Ireland.
• Research Seminar Series Ongoing series of research seminars organized by IASPM to foster scholarly exchange in popular music studies.
• IASPM Membership through Regional Branches Annual membership subscription providing access to conferences, journal, and the global popular music studies scholarly community via 16+ regional branches worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 presentations at biennial conferences
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of WellingtonflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 November 2025Host of the 24th Biennial IASPM-International Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, November 29-December 3, 2027.
• Iaspm-branche francophone d'Europe and Sorbonne Nouvelle University, ParisflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2025Joint organizers of the 23rd IASPM Biennial International Conference in Paris, France (July 7-11, 2025) with theme 'Recording popular music'.
• IASPM-US and University of MinnesotaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2023Host of the 22nd IASPM Biennial Conference in Minneapolis, USA, June 26-30, 2023. First North American hosting since 2007.
• IASPM ANZ (Australia, New Zealand)coreOthersRegional branch of IASPM covering Australia and New Zealand, hosts regional conferences and contributes to the international IASPM network.
• IASPM BeneluxcoreOthersRegional branch covering Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg, serving as the Benelux representative within the IASPM network.
• IASPM CanadacoreOthersCanadian branch of IASPM, participates in international conferences and collaborates with other Canadian music research societies.
• IASPM D-A-CHcoreOthersRegional branch covering German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), known for publishing the Vibes book series.
• IASPM FrancophonecoreOthersFrench-speaking branch of IASPM, organizing the 2025 biennial conference in Paris with Sorbonne Nouvelle University.
• IASPM ItaliacoreOthersItalian branch of IASPM, co-organizes conferences such as the Giorgio Moroder conference with D-A-CH.
• IASPM Japan (JASPM)coreOthersJapanese branch of IASPM, contributing to Asian regional popular music scholarship.
• IASPM KoreacoreOthersKorean branch of IASPM, supporting popular music research in Korea.
• IASPM Latin AmericacoreOthersRegional branch covering Latin American countries, promoting popular music studies in the region.
• IASPM NordencoreOthersNordic branch covering Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
• IASPM PortugalcoreOthersPortuguese branch of IASPM, serving the Portuguese-speaking academic community.
• IASPM Southeast AsiacoreOthersRegional branch covering Southeast Asian countries.
• IASPM SpaincoreOthersSpanish branch of IASPM, affiliated through SIBETRANS.
• IASPM TurkeycoreOthersTurkish branch of IASPM.
• IASPM UK/IrelandcoreOthersUK and Ireland branch, known for administering the Andrew Goodwin Memorial Prize for postgraduate students.
• IASPM USAcoreOthersUnited States branch, hosted the 2023 XXII Biennial Conference in Minneapolis, first US hosting since 1993.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Pop Conference (Experience Music Project / MoPOP): An annual academic conference on popular music hosted at MoPOP in Seattle with associated research outputs and growing community of popular music scholars. Overlaps directly with IASPM's popular music scholarship focus as a competing venue, but lacks IASPM's journal, branch network, and 40+ year governance track record.

Regional players

• British Forum for Ethnomusicology: A UK-based scholarly community for ethnomusicology and related popular/world music research, with annual conferences and member networks. Strongly comparable scholarly-society model and topical overlap with IASPM's popular music focus, but concentrated in the UK/Ireland rather than operating globally.
• European Association for Music in Schools: A European society for music education research with conferences, journals, and member engagement programmes. Comparable as a continental scholarly music association with subscription-driven operations, although its primary remit is music pedagogy rather than popular music studies.

Direct peers

• International Musicological Society: A global scholarly association for musicology with comparable membership, conferences, and journal publishing structure, and historically the parent space from which IASPM was founded in 1981. Directly comparable as an international academic music society operating through regional structures and an indexed peer-reviewed journal.
• American Musicological Society: The largest national musicology society in North America, offering memberships, an annual meeting, a peer-reviewed journal (JAMS), and awards programs. Directly comparable to IASPM in product mix (journal, conferences, prizes, networking), though with a national rather than international geographic remit.
• Society for Ethnomusicology: An international scholarly society for ethnomusicology operating as a nonprofit with membership, annual conference, peer-reviewed journal (Ethnomusicology), and section-based community structure. Directly comparable as a music-research academic society with a similar operational footprint and conference-and-journal business model.
• Society for Music Theory: A scholarly society for music theorists with similar subscription model, annual conference, and peer-reviewed journal (Music Theory Online). Directly comparable as an academic society serving a defined music research community with conference, journal, and awards.
• International Council for Traditional Music: A UNESCO-affiliated international scholarly NGO for traditional music research with worldwide membership, world conferences, and a peer-reviewed journal (Yearbook for Traditional Music). Directly comparable in international governance, scholarly publishing, and conference-based member engagement.
• Society for American Music: A scholarly society focused on all forms of American music with annual conference, peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the Society for American Music), and member-driven awards. Directly comparable to IASPM's combination of journal + conference + prizes, with significant topical overlap including popular music.

Others

• Music Library Association: An international scholarly association for music librarians and archivists, with annual meetings, peer-reviewed journals/notes, and member services. Comparable as a membership-based scholarly society with conference and journal offerings, but focused on the music librarian profession rather than popular music research, making it an adjacent rather than directly competing organization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iaspm_official
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCii1IhY4vnGskTwf3GUyhjQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/6130905837
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iaspm-official
• Instagraminstagram.com/iaspm_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IASPM Official