Allow us to (re)introduce ourselves!
Over the past five years, we (Courtney M. Cox, Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon, and Perry B. Johnson, Research Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Popular Music Project) have been working to develop an interdisciplinary project that examines the historic relationship between music, sound, and sport.
The Sound of Victory (SOV) turns up the volume on where and how music and sport collide. It is difficult to imagine, for example, surfing culture without the “California Sound,” or the NFL Super Bowl without its highly-anticipated halftime show. In this way, the integration of music in sport has become synonymous with the experience of sport itself—from “walk-up” songs and eighth-inning sing-alongs in Major League Baseball, to warm-up playlists and anthem openers in the NBA.
At the same time, sport has become a key feature in music—from athlete cameos in music videos to the prevalence of sport jerseys on concert tours around the world, and key brand partnerships between audio technologies and athletes and teams.
We’re thrilled to share with you today our expanded SOV initiative and a brand new online presence, which together present an overview of the breadth and range of the historic and dynamic intersection between music, sound, and sport. SOV will continue to live and grow as a multi-platform project that joins original content with educational resources and archival material. We invite you to follow us on this journey and hope that many of you will join the SOV community as collaborators and teammates as we move forward.
