Researchers in music draw on both general academic databases and specialist resources. While Scopus and Web of Science help track citation networks across disciplines, music-focused databases such as RILM and RISM provide access to literature, primary sources, and archival material essential for musicology and cultural research. In parallel, industry-facing platforms like Chartmetric and PRS Repertoire Search provide vital data on contemporary music markets and rights.
You can use music databases to:
• find research from journals and databases all across the globe
• map representation (gender, genre, region, airplay)
• analyse your audience or listener demographics
• understand industry trends (festivals, charts, playlisting)
• find collaborators or comparable artists
• evaluate impact for funding applications
• build datasets for your own research projects
Music Specific Examples:|
• Music researcher writing a PhD thesis from journals
• Festival gender line-up audit using public posters + Excel
• Radio airplay analysis using “Why Not Her?” datasets
• Scene mapping using Bandcamp + local listings
General Academic Databases
Scopus – Large abstract and citation database (STEM, social sciences, arts).
Web of Science – Citation indexing across disciplines; strong for citation tracking.
Google Scholar – Freely available, good for quick searches (less precise).
JSTOR – Digital library with strong coverage in humanities and social sciences.
ProQuest – Broad database including theses, dissertations, and grey literature.
Music-Specific Scholarly Databases
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature – Core international bibliography of music scholarship, covering articles, books, conference proceedings.
RIPM (Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals) – Historical journals and reviews (18th–20th century).
RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales) – Database of musical sources, manuscripts, early prints, and archival holdings.
Oxford Music Online (Grove Music Online) – Authoritative reference works in musicology.
Music Index – Index to music journals, both scholarly and popular.
Primary Sources & Archives for Music
British Library Sound Archive – Extensive audio collections (oral histories, recordings).
Europeana Music – Digitised music collections across European libraries.
IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project) – Free access to public-domain scores.
Naxos Music Library – Streaming library for listening and analysis (subscription-based).
Music Industry / Professional Databases
Music Business Worldwide / Music Ally – Industry news, reports, and analysis.
Chartmetric – Analytics on artists, playlists, and streaming data.
Muso.ai – Credits database for recordings (musicians, producers, engineers).
Discogs – Comprehensive user-generated database of releases, labels, formats.
PRS for Music / PPL Repertoire Search – Rights and licensing databases.
Case Study 1: Mapping Global Research on Women in Electronic Music (PhD Literature Review)
A doctoral researcher investigating women in electronic music needs to understand how gender, technology, labour, and representation have been studied internationally. They might use:
Databases used:
• RILM Abstracts of Music Literature – to find global peer-reviewed articles on electronic music, gender, production, and studio practice.
• JSTOR – for historical and theoretical feminist scholarship underpinning their framework.
• Web of Science / Scopus – to trace citation networks and identify the most influential scholars and recurring themes.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global – to review unpublished doctoral theses on music production, gender, and technology.
Outcome:
The researcher constructs a rigorous literature map showing how feminist theory, sound studies, and labour studies intersect—identifying gaps (e.g., missing research on Black women in UK dance music).
Case Study 2: Analysing Festival Gender Representation Using International Data Sources
A PhD student researching festival line-ups, quotas, and gender equity needs access to both scholarly work and datasets.
Databases used:
• Google Scholar + Scopus – to find international studies on festival programming, quantitative audits, and cultural policy impacts.
• RILM – for musicological and ethnomusicological perspectives on festivals and fieldwork.
• Europeana, International UNESCO Cultural Statistics – for contextual data on cultural participation across regions.
• EU Open Data Portal – includes datasets about cultural labour markets, relevant to interpreting festival inequalities.
Outcome:
The student triangulates academic studies with empirical datasets (e.g., Hanáček’s EU festival analyses) to argue how structural gender imbalance persists despite policy pledges.
Case Study 3: Researching Black British Music Histories Through Global Academic Databases
A PhD student documenting Black British music careers (e.g., jungle, grime, UK hip hop) draws from global social science and cultural studies databases.
Databases used:
• JSTOR – for foundational cultural theory, Black British studies, and popular-music criticism.
• Scopus – for contemporary studies on race, music industries, algorithmic bias in streaming, representation.
• RILM – to capture global musicological research on diasporic music, sound-system culture, and genre histories.
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers – for archival press on early scenes and artist coverage.
Outcome:
The researcher situates UK genres within global Black diasporic scholarship, supported by both academic and archival sources.
