Journal profile · MUSIC
POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY
ISSN 0300-7766 · eISSN 1740-1712 · Taylor & Francis
POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY: CAS Zone 1 · Arts (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 0.8 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,450; review about 378 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 16% (journal website); 42 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 1 of Arts in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Music History and Culture, Diverse Musicological Studies and Musicology and Musical Analysis, together about 51.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Music. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Popular Music and Society , founded in 1971, publishes articles, book reviews, and audio reviews on popular music of any genre, time period, or geographic location. Popular Music and Society is open to all scholarly orientations toward popular music, including (but not limited to) historical, theoretical, critical, sociological, and cultural approaches. The terms "popular" and "society" are broadly defined to accommodate a wide range of articles on the subject. The journal focuses especially on music as a manifestation of popular culture. Recent and forthcoming Special Issue topics include: Fandom; Musical Autobiographies; Music, Heritage, and Memory; the Sex Pistols; Pussy Riot; and Music and Work. Popular Music and Society is published five times per year and is a peer-reviewed academic journal supported by an international editorial board. Peer Review Policy: All research articles published in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MUSIC
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Music History and CultureArts and Humanities37.7%
- Diverse Musicological StudiesArts and Humanities7%
- Musicology and Musical AnalysisArts and Humanities6.5%
- Theater, Performance, and Music HistoryArts and Humanities5.8%
- Cultural Industries and Urban DevelopmentSocial Sciences4%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.9%
- Asian Culture and Media StudiesSocial Sciences3.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview 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 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, OCLC, America: History and Life, British Humanities Index, International Index to Music Periodicals, Communication Abstracts, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Current Abstracts, Historical Abstracts, Humanities Index, Humanities International Index, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, ProQuest Central, The Music IndexPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.56Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.37LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.37Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 57OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 479OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.66OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.33%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 23LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 224,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 224,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,228 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 7 | 0 |
| 2025 | 42 | 21 | 16 |
| 2024 | 52 | 23 | 60 |
| 2023 | 40 | 16 | 97 |
| 2022 | 35 | 12 | 159 |
| 2021 | 53 | 10 | 341 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
378 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 16%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 16%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 74 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 74 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 378 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 378 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 9 daysPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 3,450 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted2
- audio reviewsAudio ReviewsLength not stated
- book reviewsBook ReviewsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Popular Music and Society is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
All research articles published in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. Model summary
All research articles published in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0300-7766
- Electronic ISSN
- 1740-1712
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 49, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY
What CAS zone is POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY is in Zone 1 of Arts, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Music; it is a Top journal. 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.
What is the impact factor of POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.8 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.2, h-index 57.
How long does peer review take at POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY?
The publisher reports about 378 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 16% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY open access, and what is the APC?
POPULAR MUSIC AND SOCIETY is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,450.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .