Music + Data is a one-day symposium that brings together leading scholars in music, anthropology, and sound studies (broadly conceived) into dialogue with data science to consider the impact new technologies have on music cultures in global contexts past, present, and future.

Through a series of roundtable discussions, presentations, and demos, we aim to situate “music and data” as a humanistic field of study and contribute to ongoing debates about algorithms, streaming, generative AI, ethics, and “big data” analysis. So far, the pace of technological change has outstripped our critical understanding of its impact on music cultures. Music + Data aims to close this gap by bringing humanistic approaches of music studies into dialogue with computer science and digital methods, paving the way to analyze and anticipate developments as they occur year-to-year.

Organized by Thomas Hodgson in collaboration with the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities.

Click here to view a PDF of the program

Sponsored by UCLA DataX, a strategic initiative focused on strengthening research and education in data science and critical data studies across more than 40 different schools, divisions, departments, programs, institutes, centers and initiatives.

This program is made possible by the Joyce S. and Robert U. Nelson Fund. Robert Uriel Nelson was a revered musicologist and music professor at UCLA, who, together with his wife, established a generous endowment for the university to make programs like this possible.