This study aims to make the contemporary Hungarian jazz field the focus of a sociological investigation, based on a critical reinterpretation of Bourdieu's relational theory of artistic fields. It aims to grasp the logic of symbolic distinctions by analysing the free/mainstream dichotomy. This dichotomy of historically constituted poles is understood as a system of structuring oppositions that play a decisive role in the position-takings and prestige-construction of jazz musicians. The analysis of qualitative data shows how different evaluations and interpretations of shared musical references are instrumentalised in order to occupy positions in the field. Further, this article argues that such a qualitative analysis of local jazz fields transcends the national context, since culturally hybrid jazz diasporas offer an excellent terrain for analysing how the circulation of transnational artistic references influences the cultural dynamism of local fields that are embedded within global networks of cultural production.

This article builds on research about gender in music practice, concerned with skewed musical canons, ratios and quotas of gender representation, unfair treatment and power dynamics, and the exclusionary enmeshment with music technologies. The aim is to critically discuss what ‘gender’ is understood to be, how it has been studied and how gendered power has been challenged, in order to suggest new routes for research on gender and music practice. While we count ourselves among the scholars working in the field and critically investigate our own work as well as that of others, the article addresses some additional concerns to those of previous studies by examining how gender is ontologically constructed in these studies, how intersectional approaches can enrich analyses of gender in music practice and how the material dimensions of music practice can be actively addressed. The conclusions outline suggestions for broadening research in gender and music practice.

This article explores the construction of hybrid authenticity by Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, an XM Radio programme that aired between 2006 and 2009. Dylan's foray into radio presents compelling questions about the role of his star image in advancing a corporate strategy of premium radio that requires subscription access. Through narration and curation, a performed freeform radio format and fragments of radio history, Dylan's celebrity, voice and status as a vehicle for understanding the ‘American song tradition’ are solidified within the context of subscription satellite radio. In advance of the dominance of subscription streaming listening that companies like Spotify are now known for, Dylan's radio programme and recorded music of this period contribute to XM Radio's efforts to distinguish the satellite service from ‘traditional’ commercial format radio and to entice music listeners to become subscribers.

Recent popular music and film studies have revealed the political functions of documentaries about musicians. These studies suggest that such documentaries make powerful interventions into the field of music production as they construct the value of their subjects and their work. Owing to the expense and complexity of broadcast equipment, production companies have tended to favour documentaries about artists and work considered to be popular and historically significant. Over the past 15 years, however, new technologies have allowed musicians to make documentaries themselves, which they can release at the same time as their song or album. Using the example of Gotye and his album Making Mirrors, this article argues that these developments have led to powerful and distinct interventions into debates and themes within home music production for independent musicians. It also argues that the use of this technology on social media platforms challenges the relationships between text and process.