Michigan Publishing Services’s Black Music, in Theory
2026 Library Publishing Showcase Week: Making Music
Published by Michigan Publishing Services
Black Music, in Theory offers a space for thoughtful scholarship on Black music to incubate and flourish. Our goal is to publish topnotch pieces that treat Black music and musical genres with the dignity, humanity, and care that they deserve.
Why library publishing?
Black Music, in Theory benefits from a rich heritage of Open Access scholarship by Black scholars. Ever since Black Music Research Journal ceased operations in 2016 there has been a void for Black-led scholarship on Black music in journal publications. BMiT fills this void while honoring this rich heritage. As a small but dedicated team, Michigan Publishing Services (MPS) prioritizes their mission of accessibility, diversity, and preservation in their open access journal publication. Furthermore, the managing editors can access the work that they wrote and published, which isn’t always the case with large for-profit publishers.
Advice for colleagues considering working with libraries to publish?
Do it! I recently had a piece come out with a top journal through a large for-profit publisher. At least I think I did, since I can’t access it through the paywall. I see the title, but my institution doesn’t have access, and I don’t feel like paying $60 for something that I wrote myself. This is why I’d recommend that colleagues work with a library publisher. The large corporate publishers don’t really care about the scholarship, and they’re unavailable when you need help.