Ingebjørg Sofie Larsen: Music Criticism as Mediation

Field of study: Performance Practice

Music criticism in the daily press has, in line with the media industry's economic challenges and declining readership, found itself in a vulnerable position in recent years. The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the function and potential of music criticism as a mediator between music, listeners, and readers.

The function and potential of music criticism are studied in three articles:

1. "Getting emotional: Emotions and 'journalistification' in Norwegian music reviews, 1981-2022" (published). This is a qualitative text study of selected reviews in the Norwegian Daily Press.
2. A theoretically motivated exploration of the media debates surrounding Karpe's Omar Sheriff
3. An interview study where 14 music reviewers are interviewed about their practice.

The project is based on theoretical perspectives from journalism theory, cultural sociology, and philosophy, including the work of Martha Nussbaum, Jeffrey Alexander, and Hartmut Rosa. The project methods are qualitative text analysis and interviews.