David Sanjek


David Sanjek was a Professor of Popular Music and Director of the University of Salford Music Research Centre in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Alongside his father, Russell Sanjek, they produced the first comprehensive written history of the American music industry; American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years.
Sanjek was a distinguished scholar who published widely on Popular Music, Film, Media Studies, Copyright Law and Popular Culture. He was Director of the Archives at Broadcast Music, Inc. between 1991 and 2007 and was considered to be a world expert in this field. He also served as an advisor to many organisations, including The Library of Congress, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, The Blues Foundation, , The Experience Music Project Museum, The National Endowment for the Humanities and on several committees for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was also the President, Vice-President and Secretary of the U.S. Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.

Early life and career

David Sanjek was the son of noted jazz collector, music industry historian and long-time executive at BMI . He received his B.A. in English and Philosophy from Connecticut College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Literature from Washington University in St Louis. He spent his pre-academic years as an influential and popular youth leader at the Farm & Wilderness summer camps and associated educational programs situated in and around Plymouth, Vermont.
Sanjek is of Croatian descent.

American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years

This colossal work of research and writing traces the history of the American Music Business from its origins in Elizabethan England to the end of the twentieth century. David Sanjek was responsible for updating and refining the work in the third volume "Pennies From Heaven," which focusses on the technological and legal transformations that affected American Music industry between 1909 and 1984.

Legacy

The David Sanjek Archive of many thousands of books, journals, papers, records and assorted audio and visual media artefacts is in preparation at University of Salford. It is hoped that this will form a valuable resource for current and future scholars in the fields of popular music, film, literature and theatre.
The David Sanjek Memorial Graduate Student Paper Prize is offered by IASPM-US.
David is survived by his brothers Rick, a Nashville-based music entrepreneur and Roger, an anthropologist and Professor.

Books