Ryan Blakeley

Ryan Blakeley is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Music. His research investigates how digital platforms such as music streaming services are shaping listening habits, creative practices, and music industry power dynamics. In his current book project, he examines the growing ecosystem of niche streaming services that cater to specialized markets, including those for specific genres, music scenes, and B2B (business-to-business) background music. He holds a PhD in Musicology from the Eastman School of Music and an MA in Music from the University of Ottawa.

Ryan’s research has appeared in the Journal of Popular Music Studies, the Journal of Musicology, and the Routledge Handbook of Progressive Rock, Metal, and the Literary Imagination. He has also presented at several national and international conferences, including meetings of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) and the American Musicological Society (AMS). His journalistic writing about the music industry has been featured on sites such as Music Business Worldwide, The Quietus, PopMatters, and Musicology Now. In 2023, he was recognized with the University of Rochester’s Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys hiking in the mountains, experimenting with fermentation, and learning about fungi as an amateur mycologist.