LibGuides: Music: Home

School of Arts Librarian

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Harrow Library
University of Westminster

Subjects: Animation, Fashion Business, Graphics & Illustration, Journalism, Media & Communications, Music, Public Relations, Television

Library Search

Library Search is good for academic research on popular music. Not only does it list all the books that the library holds, it also provides links to content from most of the periodicals literature that we have access to.

As well as searching for a specific topic that you are interested in, look as well at books that cover a broad area. Some examples of broad subject heading searches are shown below:

Music and technology
Music publishing
Copyright - music
Music criticism
Motion picture music
Music marketing
Art and music
Music - Psychological aspects
Popular Music - history and criticism
Music - Social aspects
Music - Politics/Protest
Masculinity in music
Feminism in music
33 1/3 [book series]
Music and Economics

Google books can also be useful for music research.

Periodicals

Books are often the best place to start research, but you might also want to look specifically at some of the journals listed here or either of specifically any of the following:

The following magazines are available in the library:

Audience
Audio Media International
Billboard
Future Music
Mixmag
Mojo
Music Tech
Music Week
Q
Rolling Stone
Sound on Sound
Wire

The following resources can be used to access content from newspapers and magazines:

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Access to global news sources including major world newspapers in different scripts and language, also includes company financial data.

How to access and use Factiva [video]
PressReader This link opens in a new window
Unlimited access to over 7,000 premium newspapers and magazines. Quality content from more than 120 countries in over 60 different languages. Access via your computer or mobile device.
To use the mobile app, create an account using the desktop version first. You will then be able to log in with that account.

Academic research

BHI: British Humanities Index This link opens in a new window
Index and summaries of journal articles from over 320 humanities journals, magazines and newspapers. Subjects include literature, history, cinema, popular science and the arts.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
You will need to login with your University username and password to see links to full text links if you are off-campus.

Streaming services

BoB: Box of Broadcasts This link opens in a new window
On demand TV and radio for education, with an archive of over 2 million TV and radio broadcasts. Accessible in the UK only

How to use BoB [videos]
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
30,000+ educational documentaries and classic films from leading producers. A wide range of subject coverage (e.g. Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, Health and Sciences) You can watch anytime, anywhere and on any device including via media streaming apps.

Online training

LinkedIn Learning This link opens in a new window
A huge range of video tutorials supporting learning in software, technology, creative and business skills – all free to University of Westminster staff and currently enrolled students.

Library Guides

Music: Home