About us
The newly formed Pop Theory and Analysis Group (PopTAG) was launched at DubMAC 2026. PopTAG is associated with the Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool, and the Institute of Popular Music, University of Rochester.
Mailing list
If you would like to participate in the activities of the Pop Theory And Analysis Group (PopTag) and be included in our mailing list, please send an email to Rosa García at poptag@sma.ac.uk.
Committee
The committee is as follows:
Hippocrates Ching-nam Cheng
Massimiliano Chiaretti
Bláithín Duggan
Sam Flynn
Devin Guerrero
Mark Higgins (committee chair)
Jennifer Pace
Rachel Brett
Rosa María García Mira
Kenneth Smith
Xiaodan Zhang
Summer School
The Summer School happens annually in July, featuring three days of tuition and research papers from leading scholars in the field. Information on how to become involved next year will be posted here in due course.
Listening Zoom Parties
In addition to our other activities, the group meet on Zoom to listen to a chosen track. We discuss, analyse, and theorise together. Watch this space for our next one.
Mission of PopTAG
Pop-TAG is devoted to the theory and analysis of popular music in its broadest sense, facilitating the exchange of ideas and approaches between different methodologies and traditions. The group acts as a forum for research ideas and thinking, offering a space where members can test new approaches, share work in progress, and build collaborations that might not otherwise emerge within a single institution or discipline.
We support pedagogy by helping members develop their analytical-theoretical teaching and deepen their engagement with the field, contributing to the broader intellectual life of popular music studies.
Pop-TAG is international in scope and ambition. Our aim is to function as an international hub for learning and exchange in popular music studies via online events and meetings, with the annual Liverpool Summer School – our open, flagship in-person event – serving as an annual anchor.
Inclusivity runs through how the group operates. Our open structure is designed so that participation, not academic seniority or affiliation, determines who gets to shape the group’s direction.
This Society for Music Analysis Study group is affiliated with the Institutes of Popular Music at the Universities of Liverpool and Rochester.