Television Music

The literature on television music has been gradually expanding since the earliest studies dating from the 1950s. Because of the medium’s infancy at this time, the literature was limited and only began to really blossom in the 1970s and 1980s. Studies on television music can be divided into four types: music in television shows; music on television, such as live music shows like American Idol and The Voice and opera on and for television; music for advertising, such as commercials; and music videos. The items in this bibliography will focus on only the first of the four types—music written for television series. Despite the growth in television music research, few sources are dedicated to only television music, but rather are joined with sources about film music, which has, in general, been more wide-ranging than television music studies. All of the sources on television music in this article were written in English, though there are other sources in languages such as French, German, Italian, and Spanish. More work on television music has been conducted in the second decade of the 21st century than ever before, with the demand for it in published research continually increasing. This bibliography contains the most influential sources concerning television music, from reference works to material on specialized areas. It will also consider blogs, which, now more than ever, form an increasingly useful platform for the publication of television music scholarship.