41 Music journals (Arts and Humanities) in ORBIT Tier 1 with at least 10 papers in 2025. ORBIT Tier 1: top quarter of Arts and Humanities by citation impact, our own ranking. Not a Scopus or Web of Science quartile.
As of 2 October 2026. From OpenAlex, Crossref and DOAJ. ORBIT Tier is our own ranking within a field, not a Scopus or Web of Science quartile.
| Journal | ISSN | Papers in 2025 | ORBIT Tier | Fee to publish | Open access | DOAJ | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Música Hodie | 1676-3939 | 71 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Brazil |
| Cultural Studies | 0950-2386 | 62 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Music Education Research | 1461-3808 | 58 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| International Journal of Music Education | 0255-7614 | 49 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Popular Music Studies | 1524-2226 | 45 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Popular Music & Society | 0300-7766 | 42 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Music Educators Journal | 0027-4321 | 41 | 1 | ≈ ₹3,27,517 to publish | No | No | United States |
| Voice and Speech Review | 2326-8263 | 39 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Ethnomusicology Forum | 1741-1912 | 38 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Studies in Musical Theatre | 1750-3159 | 37 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Ethnomusicology | 0014-1836 | 36 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Music Theory Online | 1067-3040 | 36 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | United States |
| Contemporary Musicology | 2587-9731 | 34 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Russia |
| Dedica | 2182-0171 | 31 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Portugal |
| Journal of the Royal Musical Association | 0269-0403 | 31 | 1 | ≈ ₹3,41,966 to publish | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Music Theory Spectrum | 0195-6167 | 31 | 1 | ≈ ₹4,14,502 to publish | No | No | United States |
| Research Studies in Music Education | 1321-103X | 31 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | Australia |
| Sound Studies | 2055-1940 | 30 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| twentieth-century music | 1478-5722 | 30 | 1 | ≈ ₹3,41,966 to publish | No | No | United Kingdom |
| IASPM Journal | 2079-3871 | 29 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Canada |
| Journal of Research in Music Education | 0022-4294 | 29 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Arts Education Policy Review | 1063-2913 | 27 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| British Journal of Music Education | 0265-0517 | 27 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Contemporary Music Review | 0749-4467 | 26 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL | 2625-378X | 24 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Germany |
| Update Applications of Research in Music Education | 1945-0109 | 24 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| International Journal of Community Music | 1752-6299 | 23 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Music Teacher Education | 1057-0837 | 23 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Journal of Popular Music Education | 2397-6721 | 23 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Music Analysis | 0262-5245 | 22 | 1 | ≈ ₹2,79,353 to publish | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Traditiones | 0352-0447 | 22 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Slovenia |
| Global Hip Hop Studies | 2632-6825 | 20 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Music Theory | 0022-2909 | 20 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| African Musicology Online | 1994-7712 | 16 | 1 | ≈ ₹24,082 to publish | Yes | Yes | South Africa |
| Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education | 0010-9894 | 16 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Émergences | 3077-2354 | 16 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | |
| Journal of Musicology | 0277-9269 | 16 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| liquid blackness | 2692-3874 | 15 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | United States |
| Muziki | 1753-593X | 10 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | South Africa |
| Nordic Research in Music Education | 2703-8041 | 10 | 1 | ≈ ₹1,20,090 to publish | Yes | Yes | Norway |
| TOPICS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION PRAXIS | 2469-4681 | 10 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No |