From the LA Times: the new biopic of Michael Jackson is set to break records. Director of undergraduate music industry programs Tiffany Naiman helped explain.…
Dr. Tiffany Naiman is the Director of the UCLA Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Programs in Music Industry.
Dr. Naiman is a scholar, educator, curator, and music industry leader whose work connects the study of popular music with the future of the global music industry. Internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading David Bowie scholars, her research examines aging, illness, disability, and identity in popular music while advancing new conversations about music festivals, sustainability, and innovation across the live music and creative industries.
Her publications include chapters in Blackstar Rising, Purple Rain (2026); The Oxford Handbook of the Television Musical (2026); The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Video Analysis (2019); Popular Music and the Politics of Hope: Queer and Feminist Interventions (2019); Heart and Soul: Critical Essays on Joy Division (2018); Enchanting David Bowie: Space/Time/Body/Memory (2015); and David Bowie: Critical Perspectives (2015). She is a frequent media commentator whose expertise has been featured by outlets including CNN, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, and NPR, where she has provided analysis on music festivals, streaming platforms, artificial intelligence, popular music, and the contemporary music industry.
Beyond academia, Naiman is an award-winning documentary producer, film and music curator, DJ, and electronic musician performing as NeonGray1. She develops interdisciplinary cultural programming that connects scholarship, performance, community engagement, and the music industry. Her recent projects include serving as Senior Programmer for Platinum the experimental film and music section of OUTFEST Los Angeles; curatorial consultant for Deep Tropics Festival and the Deep Culture Sustainability Summit; and co-curator of Kiki’ing with the River, for LA River Arts. She has also created and produced influential club nights, live performances, and cultural events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.
Naiman serves on the boards of Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), FEMME HOUSE, and Theatre Exile, where she advances initiatives supporting equity, inclusion, artist development, and the future of the creative industries.
