Music industries, platforms and creative labour – UK partner for Cluster 2 consortia

I am Professor of Music and Acting Head of the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield. My research works across popular music studies, the music industries, and cultural production, combining empirical methods (surveys, interviews, listening studies) with critical industry analysis. I am currently PI on a Horizon Europe project on music short videos and cultural flows between Brazil and the UK (2026–2028).

Areas of expertise:

- Popular music

- Music technology and production

- Music industries: platform economies, streaming, licensing, labour

- Creative labour, precarity, and sustainability of cultural work

- Platformised sound and the cultural implications of music platforms

- AI and machine learning in music production and analysis

- Music, migration, and cross-cultural exchange

What I bring to a consortium:

- UK partner institution (University of Huddersfield; Music ranked 5th in REF 2021, top 50 in QS World Rankings)

- Current Horizon Europe PI, with a prior track record of PI grants from Horizon Europe and UKRI (AHRC and EPSRC) and Co-I roles on Leverhulme Trust and DFG projects

- Work-package leadership on empirical and analytical research; team capacity through line-management of seven postdoctoral fellows and supervision of a current cohort of over ten PhD students

- Nine authored books and three edited volumes (including two Cambridge Companions), with more than forty peer-reviewed journal articles mainly in Q1 journals

- Established links to German research partners (Leuphana University, Prof. Michael Ahlers) and wider European networks through editorial service (IASPM Journal) and leadership roles (Co-Chair of the German Society for Popular Music; AHRC Peer Review College)

What I am looking for:

Consortia preparing 2026 Cluster 2 proposals in Cultural and Creative Industries, cultural heritage (including popular music and sound heritage), creative labour and platform economies, inclusive society (music and migration), and AI in cultural production. Happy to join at any stage of consortium formation, as WP lead or research partner.

Please contact me via B2Match or at j.herbst@hud.ac.uk to discuss possible collaboration.