Journal profile · MUSIC
Journal of the Royal Musical Association
ISSN 0269-0403 · eISSN 1471-6933 · Cambridge University Press
Journal of the Royal Musical Association: CAS Zone 3 · Arts (2025 upgraded edition); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; 31 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the Royal Musical Association is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 3 of Arts in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Musicology and Musical Analysis, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and Diverse Musicological Studies, together about 42.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Music. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of the Royal Musical Association (JRMA) is one of the major international refereed journals in the discipline. Founded 150 years ago (as the Association’s Proceedings) to advance ‘the art and science of music’, JRMA maintains a wide-ranging, inclusive interpretation of music studies that encompasses historical, cultural and critical musicology; theory and analysis; ethnomusicology; gender and sexuality; popular music and jazz studies; pedagogy; audiovisual media and practice-led research. Its editorial policy is to disseminate outstanding work across the evolving discipline, to communicate specialist perspectives to a broad readership, and to prompt new scholarly debate. Research articles published in JRMA have undergone rigorous double-anonymous peer review after initial screening by the Editors for quality and fit with the journal’s objectives.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MUSIC
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 12, United States 4, Australia 2, Germany 1, Norway 1 (20 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musicology and Musical AnalysisArts and Humanities22%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.6%
- Diverse Musicological StudiesArts and Humanities10.1%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences6%
- Music History and CultureArts and Humanities5.9%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5.2%
- Historical Influence and DiplomacySocial Sciences4.9%
- Theater, Performance, and Music HistoryArts and Humanities4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Arts Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Arts Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.11LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 37OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 145OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.51OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 50%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 60.34%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,021 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15 | 11 | 2 |
| 2025 | 31 | 23 | 2 |
| 2024 | 28 | 18 | 34 |
| 2023 | 21 | 13 | 4 |
| 2022 | 34 | 18 | 42 |
| 2021 | 29 | 13 | 42 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 15,000 words
Article types accepted3
- articleJournal of the Royal Musical Association publishes: Article* Review Article* Roundtable*Length not stated
- review articleJournal of the Royal Musical Association publishes: Article* Review Article* Roundtable*Length not stated
- roundtableJournal of the Royal Musical Association publishes: Article* Review Article* Roundtable*Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review
Double-anonymous peer review after initial editorial screening Model summary
Research articles published in JRMA have undergone rigorous double-anonymous peer review after initial screening by the Editors for quality and fit with the journal’s objectives.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- ISSN
- 0269-0403
- Electronic ISSN
- 1471-6933
- Society / sponsor
- Royal Musical Association
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the Royal Musical Association
What CAS zone is Journal of the Royal Musical Association in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the Royal Musical Association is in Zone 3 of Arts, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Music. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Arts. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of the Royal Musical Association based?
Of the 20 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (12), United States (4) and Australia (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of the Royal Musical Association?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the Royal Musical Association is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of the Royal Musical Association open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the Royal Musical Association is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .