Jayson Beaster-Jones

Jayson Beaster-Jones is a Professor of Music in the Global Arts Studies Program at the University of California, Merced, within the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Music and Anthropology from Whitman College.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Chicago (2007)
• M.A. in Anthropology, University of Chicago (2000)
• B.A. in Music and Anthropology, Whitman College (1995)

Beaster-Jones is an ethnomusicologist specializing in the music industry of India, with particular expertise in Bollywood film songs, Indian musics, and the commodification of music. His interdisciplinary research bridges anthropology and music studies, examining how music functions within cultural, economic, and social contexts through extensive ethnographic work in North India. His scholarship incorporates linguistic anthropology, semiotics, and intellectual property studies to understand music's valuation, circulation, and experiential dimensions in contemporary India, with publications spanning historical analyses of 70 years of Bollywood to contemporary studies of music retail and digital distribution.

His scholarly publications reveal a consistent focus on the cosmopolitan nature of Indian popular music and its mediation of diverse cultural influences. Recent work has expanded to include community-engaged research projects in Merced County examining local soundscapes and the relationship between music, memory, and aging, demonstrating his commitment to connecting academic research with community contexts.

Scientific Awards:

• Lise Waxer Prize of the Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology (2008) for the paper 'Indexing the Past, Selling the Future'

Beaster-Jones has secured substantial research funding including grants from the Fulbright-Hays DDRA, Thomas J. Watson Foundation, and Glasscock Center for Humanities Research. He currently co-directs the Gateway to Merced Project, a community-engaged oral history initiative, and runs Music Memory Hours in Merced. In 2025, he and Patricia Vergara received a three-year Multicampus Research Program Initiative grant for their project on Merced County soundscapes in the era of climate change, funded by UC Humanities Research Institute, Luce Family Foundation, California Arts Council, and UC Merced's Center for the Humanities. He actively involves student cohorts from UC Merced's UROC-H Program in these research initiatives.

Beaster-Jones leads the G Street Revolution faculty ensemble and co-produces the 'What's Your Problem Podcast' with Paul Gibbons, further demonstrating his commitment to public scholarship and community engagement beyond traditional academic boundaries.