The Journal of Music has established a new Advisory Board, which held its inaugural meeting on Friday 3 September.

The new group has been established to act as a sounding board for the publication and to provide feedback on editorial content and strategy.

There are eight members of the board, comprising a range of expertise across contemporary, classical, folk and traditional, jazz, hip hop, rock and pop, and a wide range of industry knowledge. 

The members are Benedict Schlepper-Connolly (Chair), composer,  Director of the Ergodos record label and Digital Curator at the Museum of Literature Ireland; Aine Cronin McCartney, radio presenter, music blogger and artist manager; Neva Elliott McGinley, visual artist and former CEO of Crash Ensemble; Gerry Godley, former Principal and Managing Director of Leeds Conservatoire and former Director of the Improvised Music Company; Ciara Higgins, Head of Artistic Programming at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and Artistic Director of the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival; Munyaradzi God Knows Jonas, artist and founder of Narolane Records; Gareth Murphy, writer and author of Cowboys and Indies – The Epic History of the Record Industry; and Ruth Smith, artist and presenter of Simply Folk on RTÉ Radio 1.

The first meeting focused on an exploration of the current music media environment and strategies for the future.

Commenting on the establishment of the board, Toner Quinn, editor of the Journal of Music, said:

This is an invaluable initiative for the publication and we are delighted to have such a range of expertise involved. The purpose of the board is to provide a platform for discussions that will inform the work of the magazine. Our first meeting covered a range of issues and both supported and challenged our thinking around our editorial work. We look forward greatly to future discussions. 

The Advisory Board will meet three times a year. The term of membership is two years.