Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology
2007 Section Report

In 2007, the Popular Music Section has experienced continued growth and has advanced both ongoing and new projects. The group now has 545 members. At the 2006 SEM conference, papers were submitted for the section’s fifth annual Lise Waxer Prize Competition for the best student paper delivered on popular music. The Waxer Prize Committee (Tracey Laird [chair], Jane Florine, Kristin McGee and Steve Pond) met electronically and selected a winner from among the submissions. The prize will be awarded at the 2007 SEM conference in Columbus. At the 2006 PMSSEM Business Meeting, Alex Perullo was elected the new chair of the section’s Music and Fair Use Forum.

The PMSSEM Lecture Committee (Elizabeth Wollman [chair], Susan Oehler, Jeremy Wallach and Miles White) considered names brought forward by the membership, met electronically, and invited Barry Shank to deliver the 2007 PMSSEM Lecture. Dr. Shank has accepted the section’s invitation, and his paper will be delivered immediately following the section’s Business Meeting in Columbus.

The section has made progress on a proposal to offer a new annual prize. A special committee (Jeremy Wallach [chair], Travis Jackson, Barbara Rose Lange, Gabriel Solis and Cynthia Po-Man Wong) developed guidelines, and refined them in response to feedback from the 2006 PMSSEM Business Meeting. In discussions and a vote held electronically in February 2007, the PMSSEM agreed on guidelines for the prize, to be named the Waterman Prize. Following the section’s vote, I submitted these proposed guidelines to the SEM Board for approval.

The PMSSEM webpage continues to develop as an academic resource. It currently contains the section’s Mission Statement, minutes of the most recent Business Meeting, the chair’s Annual Section Report, information on PMSSEM projects, bibliographies, and an online directory of members reflecting their research interests and projects. The website is accessible via link from the SEM webpage or directly through the following web address: http://orpheus.tamu.edu/pmssem/. The section also runs two electronic discussion lists: PMSSEM-L, a general discussion list; and PMSCOPY-L, a list dedicated to the Music and Fair Use Forum.

The Popular Music Section continues to welcome new members and new projects. All those interested in joining the section, serving on committees, or initiating new undertakings should contact me: my email address is pdg4@psu.edu.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul D. Greene
Section Chair, Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology

September 14, 2007