Rotterdam. Birthplace of gabber music, home of the first Cabo Verde music label Morabeza Records, the city that hosted the first pop music festival in the Netherlands - Holland Pop. Currently, Rotterdam is the music festival capital of the Netherlands with a lively music scene with bands such as Tramhaus, Library Card, Lewsberg and Bombstrap, venues as WORM and Hiphophuis, and festivals like Left of the Dial. Therefore, we as Rotterdam Popular Music Studies feel at home in Rotterdam and are proud to welcome you in 010 and at our We Want More conference.
- Date
- Wednesday 8 Apr 2026, 10:00 - Friday 10 Apr 2026, 17:00
- Type
- Conference
- Location
Erasmus University Rotterdam
This conference focuses on the study of (popular) music from a sociological perspective. To that end, we showcase a broad range of papers which explore music from different methodological and theoretical approaches and through diverse empirical data. We also have presentations from our disciplinary friends, such as geography, cultural studies, and beyond. We Want More! [we are SOLD OUT]
The conference will consist of:
- Opening at Katoenhuis, 8 April
- Young Scholars Workshop at Codarts, 8 April
- Main conference at Erasmus University, 9-10 April
- Free concert/party at Roodkapje, 9 April
Programme
Opening We Want More: Music / Sociology! - The Future Sound of Rotterdam
- Word of welcome to Rotterdam
- Demonstration with Robots
- Talk by Ana Alacovska
- Surprise announcement
- Panel on nightlife
Young scholars Workshop - We Want More: Feedback!
The We Want More: Feedback! Young scholars workshop is part of the international popular music studies conference We Want More: Music / Sociology! The Erasmus University Rotterdam research centre Rotterdam Popular Music Studies (RPMS) will host this afternoon together with the Benelux Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. IASPM Benelux has as a key objective to nourish academic talent in the field of popular music studies within the Benelux region, for example through its annual student conference and thesis prize.
On invitation only!
We Want More: Music / Sociology - Main conference programme
| Time | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Registration | Ground Floor, Van der Goot building |
| Coffee | 5th Floor, Langeveld building – in rooms | |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Sessions | |
| Music, Audiences, Reception 1: Participation, Technology, Materiality | LAN 5.06 | |
| Music Ecosystems 1: Theorizing and Mapping Music Ecosystems | LAN 5.10 | |
| Music and Inequalities 1: Gender and the Music Industry | LAN 5.18 | |
| Music, Health and Wellbeing 1: Healthcare | LAN 5.12 | |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break | 5th Floor, Langeveld building – in rooms |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | More sessions | |
| Music, Audiences, Reception 2: Taste, Preferences, (Aging) Youth | LAN 5.06 | |
| Music Ecosystems 2: Industry Policies and Strategies | LAN 5.10 | |
| Music and Inequalities 2: Race, Colonialism and Racialization | LAN 5.18 | |
| Music, Heritage, and Memory | LAN 5.12 | |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch | Second Floor, Van der Goot building |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Even more sessions | |
| Music, Platformization, and AI 1: Platform Economies | LAN 5.06 | |
| Music, Politics, and Activism 1: Protest and Political Action | LAN 5.10 | |
| Music and Inequalities 3: Migration and Diaspora | LAN 5.18 | |
| Music Ecosystems 3: Public Value, Citizenship and Common Good | LAN 5.12 | |
| 1500 – 15:30 | Refresher Break | 5th Floor, Langeveld building – in rooms |
| 15:30 – 17:00 | Final sessions of the day | |
| Music, Labor and Careers 1: Songwriting | LAN 5.06 | |
| Music, Health, and Wellbeing 2: Consumption and Audiences | LAN 5.10 | |
| Music and Inequalities 4: Gender and Inclusion Practices | LAN 5.18 | |
| Music Education | LAN 5.12 |
And come to our free show at Roodkapje (20:30)!
We Want More: Music / Sociology - Main conference programme
| Time | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Coffee | Second Floor, Van der Goot building |
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Sessions | |
| Music, Politics, and Activism 2: Polarization and Affective Politics | M1-09 | |
| Music, Labor, and Careers 2: Gatekeepers | M1-16 | |
| Music and Nightlife | M1-18 | |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break | Second Floor, Van der Goot building |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | More sessions | |
| Music, Politics, and Activism 3: Identities | M1-09 | |
| Music, Labor, and Careers 3: Intermediaries and Support Personnel | M1-16 | |
| Music, Health, and Wellbeing 3: Artists and the Music Industry | M1-18 | |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch | Second Floor, Van der Goot building |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Even more sessions | |
| Music, Platformization, and AI 2: Artificial Intelligence | M1-09 | |
| Music, Labor, and Careers 4: Going Places | M1-16 | |
| Music, Politics, and Activism 4: New Scholarly Perspectives | M1-18 |
Programme details
For the complete programme with all details about what is happing at the opening, what exciting papers are presented in each session, and when and where all of this is happing, check the document below.
Abstracts
All conference abstracts can be found in the book of abstract below.
Travel and practical information
For information about travelling to and in Rotterdam, accomodations, the conference locations and music stores and venues in Rotterdam, download the document below.
About We Want More!
We are both members of society at large as well as actors in music ecosystems - as music makers, audience members, and academics. This conference therefore includes themes around both the production and the reception of music. We seek to examine the challenges of today’s music ecosystems (AI, inequality, precarity, sustainability, well-being) as well as societal challenges music can help solve through audience engagement (care, inclusion, societal change). Our aim is twofold: highlighting the rich variety of music sociology today and strengthening the relationships between researchers and music industry professionals to facilitate relevant and impact-driven music research.
We want a lot. We ask a lot - from ourselves, our favorite artists, and society. This raises urgent (sociological) questions about music: What do we want (taste, consumption)? How do we want it (live, through platforms or AR/VR)? What do we want to pay for it (fair pay, precarity)? How do we want to pay for it (crowdfunding, industry, patronage, subsidies)? And how do we want music to matter (activism, climate, commercialism, community, well-being)?
More suggests abundance. More streams, more gigs, more genres, more money. But popular music is also characterized by more precarity, more inequality, more overburdened artists, more oversaturated audiences. This conference aims at bringing together researchers and industry professionals to reflect on these dynamics, paradoxes and challenges, sharing empirical work, and exploring exciting future avenues for the sociological study of music.
An exclamation mark screams urgency. We are all searching for collective effervescence, meaningful experiences, affective atmospheres. But how is this pursuit disrupted by forces such as technology (AI), commodification and platformization? And what are the possible consequences of these shifts? Among them are trends such as festivalization, a growing sense of diminished authenticity, and the prevalence of hope labour, where artists invest time and effort in uncertain opportunities, driven more by aspiration rather than guaranteed reward. In this continuously evolving field, popular music studies must confront the tensions between hope and disillusionment, performance and precariousness, creativity and capital, by critically engaging with the systems that shape who gets heard, how, and at what price.
- More information
Do you have any questions? Contact Pauwke Berkers at rpms@eur.nl
- Related links
- Rotterdam Popular Music Studies
