Peer reviewers’ reasons for rejecting manuscripts submitted to the Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa

Amid the juggling of teaching, administrative, research and, more recently, ‘Zoom’ responsibilities, the publication of peer-reviewed articles in accredited journals remains a cornerstone of academic life. The aphorism ‘publish or perish’, coined nearly a century ago,1 has become synonymous with the pressures put on scholars to publish manuscripts for the establishment, advancement or mere retainment of their academic careers. Imad Moosa, in his book on the publish-or-perish culture and its history, writes: