Producing Music, Producing Knowledge: Practice, Technology, and Culture in Music Production

Society for Music Production Research 3rd Annual Conference
September 9-11, 2026,  University of Huddersfield, UK

Overview
The 2026 Society for Music Production Research (SMPR) Conference, Producing Music, Producing Knowledge, brings together the international music production research community to explore the creative, technical, and cultural practices that define how music is produced, experienced, and understood.

SMPR is an international society dedicated to building knowledge and dialogue among practitioners and scholars of music production. Its work spans creation, technology, pedagogy, aesthetics, and reception—bridging research and practice across diverse musical and cultural contexts.

Hosted at the University of Huddersfield, home to one of the world’s largest communities of music production and popular music researchers, the conference provides a forum for critical, creative, and professional exchange.

Conference Themes
The conference invites contributions that explore how music production both produces music and produces knowledge, through technology, creative practice, pedagogy, and cultural understanding. We welcome submissions that investigate how knowledge is made, shared, and embodied within music production processes, technologies, and communities. We particularly welcome submissions on the following core themes:

Production Technology
Evolving approaches to recording, mixing, live sound, and mastering • Creative and critical uses of digital audio workstations and production environments • Immersive and spatial sound practices • Production aesthetics and sonic experimentation • Interfaces, instruments, and human–machine interaction in studio and live contexts • Analytical, interpretive, and reflective approaches to technology and innovation in production.

Creative Practice
Practice-based and practice-led research • Creative processes and production aesthetics • Producer roles, identity, and authorship • Collaborative workflows and decision-making • Music production education, knowledge exchange, and curriculum design • Industry contexts and professional pathways • Reflective practice, documentation, and studio ethnography.

Culture, History & Ways of Knowing
Histories and ontologies of recording and production • Genre and aesthetic studies • Producer legacies and influential practices • Cultural contexts, representation, and mediation • Critical listening and analytical methods • Audience perception and reception • Archives, preservation, and heritage • Global perspectives and epistemologies of music production.

Scope of Submissions
Submissions are welcome across the full range of music production research, including theoretical, empirical, and practice-based approaches. We particularly encourage contributions from practitioners and industry professionals, as well as research that documents and reflects critically on creative processes, technologies, and cultural contexts.

Presentation Formats
Paper Presentations
20-minute presentations followed by 5 minutes for questions and discussion. Papers will be grouped into themed sessions aligned with the conference’s core thematic areas.

Poster Sessions
Dedicated poster sessions offer an alternative format for presenting and discussing research. This setting fosters extended conversations, informal exchanges, and detailed feedback.

Please submit proposals via this link by 11:59 p.m. (UTC) on March 2, 2026.