1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of Music
  3. Research and innovation
  4. The Music Exchange

The Music Exchange

The music exchange

The Music Exchange (TMX) is an innovative programme of research-led events that blend traditional presentations, conversations and performance, and engage a diverse range of audiences including members of the public, industry professionals, and students. TMX builds new connections between academic, non-academic groups and organisations, as well as generating interdisciplinary relationships with academic colleagues within and beyond the University. 

Events will generate insights on a single theme from a variety of perspectives, and take varied formats. For example, an event might consist of talks from academics and industry professionals with a panel discussion, or might consist of talks and performances from student or professional musicians. Events will all be run in hybrid form (i.e. with in person and online elements) and streamed on YouTube to increase audience engagement, and attract international audience and contributors. 

 

Dance Music Matters - How Can Research Support the Future of Nightlife

12 November 2025

Is dancing to electronic music good for you? In recent years, research by musicologists and music psychologists provided some positive answers to this question. However, this has been taking place in the context of public and political opposition to the nightlife sector, in addition to gentrification and escalating business rates, resulting in the industry suffering financially. As a response to these trends, this TMX sought to showcase the benefits of dance music and asked the question of how research can best support the future of nightlife.

The panel:

  • James Cannon (Chair) – PGR Researcher, School of Music, University of Leeds
  • Professor Alice O'Grady - School of Performance and Cultural Industries, University of Leeds
  • Kikelomo Oludemi - DJ, Oroko Radio Co-Founder
  • Rufy Ghazi - Music Tech & Research Executive and DJ
  • Tony Rigg - Music Industry / Cultural & Creative Industries Advisor

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWcTJebqJYM

 

Gender Equality, Performance and The Music Industry

18 Oct 2023

Why does gender imbalance persist in music? What policies, practices and attitudes it could take to forge lasting change? In collaboration with the renowned Leeds International Piano Competition, the event explored gender representation in music over time, drawing on archival collections as well as personal and professional experiences. 

The panel:

  • Professor Barbara Kelly (Chair) - Head of School of Music - University of Leeds 
  • Fiona Sinclair - CEO Leeds International Piano Competition
  • Dr Caroline Rae - pianist, writer, broadcaster and pupil of Dame Fanny Waterman
  • Vick Bain - Academic & Business Research Consultant with a focus on Diversity & Inclusion and past President of the Independent Society of Musicians
  • Lydia Artymiw -1978 Leeds International Piano Competition prize winner and Emerita Distinguished McKnight Professor of Piano in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtdpAVyJzVg

 

Independent Music & Public Relations

27 April 2023

The internet has both simplified and complicated distribution for independent musicians. On the one hand, getting music out there is easier and cheaper than ever; on the other, getting heard is arguably much more difficult. Gaining attention and appreciation for music involves navigating complex new sets of intermediaries such as streaming platforms, music aggregators, and distributors. 

This event explored the day-to-day realities of how independent artists, labels, and publicists work together (or not!) to develop coherent identities, and the ways in which music journalists and other intermediaries engage with music PR in their day-to-day work. 

The panel:

  • Dr Ellis Jones (Chair) - Lecturer in Music and Management at the School of Music, University of Leeds
  • Liv Willars - One Beat PR
  • Harry Ridgway -Hanglands
  • Thea Hudson-Davies - The Leaf Label 
  • Tayyab Amin - music writer (Pitchfork, The Guardian)

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m_28ReHM1A

 

The Music in my Head - Friend or Foe?

24 April 2023

Hearing music in one’s head is extremely common, but relatively little is known about how this feature relates to our wider wellbeing. So-called ‘earworms’ have a reputation for being intrusive, but we might also ask in what ways, and in what contexts, it is helpful to imagine music. To what extent does the music in our head act as a form of mental company, serve therapeutic goals, distract us from emotional experience, or even entertain our ‘mind’s ear’? These and related issues were discussed from multiple disciplinary perspectives at this TMX event. 

The panel:

  • Freya Bailes (Chair) - Associate Professor in the School of Music, University of Leeds
  • Andrew Edwards - BBC Radio Leeds presenter
  • Jan Hemming - musicologist (Kassel University, Germany)
  • Rebecca Schaefer - neuropsychologist (Leiden University, the Netherlands)
  • Ira Hyman - psychologist (Western Washington University, the USA). 

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l84xm8qWMVI