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Forensic Musicology Then, Now, & Tomorrow

20 Nov 2026
6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. ET
Lady Justice statue

Forensic Musicology Then, Now, & Tomorrow

Chair: Katherine Leo (Millikin University)

Presenters: Katherine Leo (Millikin University); Joe Bennett (Berklee College of Music); Claire McLeish (Grayson Music)

What is forensic musicology: where has it been, what are current issues in this small, yet growing, field, and what is the outlook for its future? Synthesizing recent AMS programming and cross-disciplinary research, this roundtable session represents the international, scholarly intersection of prominent figures across music publishing, infringement litigation, and musical-legal analysis. Panelists will examine the evolving field of forensic musicology. After articulating a working definition and history of forensic musicology as the applied study of music as intellectual property, panelists will consider how analytical methodologies—ranging from melodic and harmonic comparison to considerations of genre conventions and “scènes à faire”—have developed in response to both judicial expectations and creative processes.

This discussion reveals urgent ethical questions about the responsibilities of expert witnesses, including maintaining neutrality and clear boundaries on the role of musical analysis in the evaluation of infringement claims; ensuring methodological transparency; and best practices for client engagement. Questions of credentialing, standards of practice, and efforts to form a study group or professional organization will also be considered. Panelists will critically assess the risks and opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted forensic analysis, including issues of reliability, interpretability, and potential admissibility in court. They will further consider how the field is perched on the precipice of familiar, yet new, technological paradigms and how experts might adapt while preserving the nuanced, context-sensitive interpretations that define this discipline.

Through this trenchant, public-facing discourse, panelists aim to situate forensic musicology while promoting dialogue with and among attendees. Questions from attendees will be encouraged throughout the session.

About the Presenters

Authors

  • Dr. Katherine M. Leo (Ph.D. Musicology, The Ohio State University; J.D., The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law) is associate professor of music and John C. Griswold distinguished professor at Millikin University. As a multidisciplinary academic and forensic musicologist, Dr. Leo investigates the histories, analytical methods, and ethics of copyright law and the US music industry. She is author of Forensic Musicology and the Blurred Lines of Music Copyright History (Lexington 2021) and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Forensic Musicology (OUP forthcoming). Dr. Leo’s research has received international recognition in fields of musicology and law through presentation and publication.

  • Joe Bennett portrait

    Dr. Joe Bennett is a forensic musicologist, Berklee professor, writer, BBC broadcaster, and researcher, with academic and music industry publications specializing in the songwriting process and song similarity. He has written more than 30 teaching and transcription books, and around 300 articles for Total Guitar, TIDAL, Washington Post, Future Music and many others, relating to classic recordings, guitar techniques and songwriting. His Rockschool compositions for music education are performed by students all over the world. Joe is a member of PRS for Music, a National Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a peer reviewer for OUP, Bloomsbury, and IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music).

    As an academic, his primary areas of research are the psychology of songwriting, and similarity thresholds in popular songs. His PhD was entitled ‘Constraint, Creativity, Copyright and Collaboration in Popular Songwriting Teams’ and it provided the world’s first systematic investigation into collaborative songwriters’ creative processes.

    As a forensic musicologist, Joe assists songwriters, law professionals and music publishers in investigating music plagiarism and copyright infringement. Notable cases include Naxos v. Salmon (UK), Hines v. BMG Rights Mgmt (SDNY), and Browne v. Donalds (CD Cal). Media interviews include NPR, New York Times, LA Times, Newsweek, Forbes, BBC, MTV, The Daily Telegraph, Discovery Channel and The Guardian. As resident musicologist for BBC radio, he broadcasts a weekly “midnight musicology” show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He is listed on the Music Publishers’ Association’s Register of Expert Witness Musicologists and the American Musicological Society’s database of forensic musicologists. Joe blogs about popular music, songwriting and music copyright at joebennett.net.

  • Dr. Claire McLeish (Ph.D. Musicology, McGill University; MA Popular Music and Culture, Western University) is a musicologist and music-publishing professional based in Montreal. Currently employed at Grayson Music, a music publisher and production house, she previously worked for the publisher Third Side Music (2022-2025). In these roles, McLeish has provided in-house musicology services, managed composition copyrights, and processed royalties. She also offers forensic musicology consulting, working on infringements, sample uses, sound-alike comparisons, and public domain research for clients based in Canada and the United States. Her dissertation examined sampling and copyright lawsuits in golden age hip-hop.