When you join the IMS, you join a growing community of over 1,100 members in sixty-three countries spanning six continents. We speak a multitude of languages and have a thousand-plus perspectives on music studies. We are performers and composers, studio instructors, librarians, archivists, post-doctoral researchers, independent scholars, and doctoral students and faculty at music schools, conservatories, colleges, and universities from Puerto Varas, Chile, to Taideyliopisto, Finland. Each person brings new potential to the IMS, for sharing research, teamwork, and expanding our collective understanding of music and musicology in all its wonderful variety.
As a member, you join a society dedicated to advancing learning in international contexts. The IMS is a place of discovery, where you can experience the creative frictions and broadening horizons that new encounters can bring. We host world congresses and intercongressional meetings and support study groups and regional associations in East Asia, the Eastern Slavic countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Balkans.
Membership in IMS brings exclusive benefits that will serve you throughout your career.
- discounts on IMS events, such as the Quinquennial IMS Congresses, symposia of the IMS Regional Associations and IMS Study Groups, as well as other joint conferences;
- online access to all past and current issues of Acta Musicologica, the official peer-reviewed journal of the IMS (a print-on-demand option is also available);
- the electronic IMS Newsletter, which keeps members informed of activities, prizes, awards, and internal affairs;
- online access to the IMS Publication Archive, which includes electronic versions of previously published IMS Newsletters and IMS Communiqués, as well as a free-to-read online version of The History of the IMS;
- the possibility to apply for the IMS Outstanding Dissertation Award and congress travel grants and to participate in the IMS International Mentoring Program;
- discounts with publishers when purchasing books and journals (e.g., Oxford University Press, Routledge), or when subscribing to online resources (e.g., Grove Music Online);
- the possibility to announce calls for papers, conferences, and job postings through the IMS mailing list;
- and more.
One important benefit of being a member is that you can join an IMS Regional Association or IMS Study Group for free. By joining, you’ll be able to
- support the advancement of musicology in your region or discipline and help set research agendas;
- establish new contacts—to share ideas, discuss problems, and further your research;
- have the opportunity to play a leadership role.
We keep our fees as low as possible to ensure that everyone can join our world community of musicology. In 2023 we introduced a new membership fee structure tied to the Gross Domestic Product of the country of residence. There are also reduced fees for students and retirees.
We do not offer free membership, but if fees should be prohibitive, please contact us and we will do our best to help alleviate the problem.