About the Journal
Focus and scope
Main areas of interest are the philosophy of music and music aesthetics; music history and theory; music analysis and its philosophical implications; the relationship between philosophy, theory and psychology of music; ethnomusicology and anthropology of sound; dramaturgy, philology and music analysis; the relationship between music and the other arts.
Publication frequency
Half-yearly
CC License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Share alike 4.0 International License.
Sherpa Romeo
Preprint and postprint version of the articles can be archived anywhere under the same license.
Publication costs
The journal does not charge publication costs (APC) or subscription fees.
Open access policy
This series provides open and unrestricted access to its content inspired by the founding principles of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (
http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/translations
). Anyone has the right to download, re-use, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the published content.
Archiving
The University of Milan has an archival arrangement with the National Central Libraries of Florence and Rome within the national project <a href="http://www.depositolegale.it/editori-aderenti/">Magazzini Digitali</a>.</p>
De Musica has enabled the PKP PN (Preservation Network) plugin, in order to preserve digital contents through LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) project
Anti-plagiarism measures
Editors are responsible for checking and acting promptly in the event of errors and misconduct, whether proven or suspected, in both published and unpublished contributions. In the event of errors, fraudulent publication or plagiarism, in published articles or during the publication process, appropriate measures will be taken, following COPE's recommendations and guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines). Corrections will be made with due prominence, including publication of an erratum (errors in the publication process), rectification (authors' errors) or, in the most serious cases, withdrawal of the paper concerned. Withdrawn papers will be retained online and will be prominently marked as retractions in all online versions, including the PDF, as a guarantee of transparency to readers.
iThenticate
The journal performs a Similarity Check on the submissions received, through iThenticate software.
Artificial intelligence
De Musica acknowledges the importance of artificial intelligence innovations understanding the challenges and opportunities they entail.
Authors who have used artificial intelligence tools in the editing of a manuscript, in the production of images or graphical elements of the article, or in the collection and analysis of data, are invited to explicitly declare their use, mentioning the AI tool, the field of application, the search queries used and the date of use, in order to allow reproducibility and verification.
The author will remain responsible for the accuracy and correctness of any published content and guarantees compliance with the code of ethics and anti-plagiarism rules.
Authors who have used AI, or AI-assisted tools, are required to include a paragraph at the end of their manuscript, entitled "Declaration on Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process", with the following information:
"During the preparation of this paper the author(s) used [TOOL/SERVICE NAME] on [DD/MM/YYYYY] using the search terms: [SEARCH TERMS] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) have reviewed and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the content of the publication."
Editors are not allowed to upload received manuscripts into artificial intelligence software, in order not to risk compromising privacy and copyright.
Reviewers undertake not to use artificial intelligence tools to evaluate manuscripts in order to guarantee the application of critical thinking and original assessment, as required for this work.
Rights notice
The author grants De Musica the right to publish for the first time and the perpetual right to distribute it free of charge to the public in any medium and anywhere in the world, including communication to the public via the magazine's website.
The author retains the right to create derivative works and to reproduce, distribute, perform or publicly display his work in lectures, conferences or presentations, or other works of a scholarly nature and professional activities, making explicit the place of publication.
The author retains the right to disseminate the work in open access, through his own website or through an institutional or disciplinary archive, from the moment of its publication.
The author renounces, in agreement with the Publisher, any form of remuneration granted by current national legislation to authors and publishers for the rights of reprography for non-profit purposes and library lending.
Editorial Principles
1. Responsibility and Attribution.
Editors take responsibility for all contributions published in the journal. They are committed to ensuring scientific and editorial quality through double-blind peer review and careful editing. The journal fully preserves published articles and guarantees the long-term preservation of all published content through the LOCKKS system.
2. Independence and editorial integrity
2.1 Independence of editorial decisions from commercial interests
The journal's editors are responsible for deciding whether or not to publish proposed contributions.
The journal adopts an open access policy and has no commercial interests, so editorial processes and decisions are independent of any commercial considerations.
2.2 Relationship of the editors with the journal
The editors work on a voluntary basis. The journal's website is hosted by the University of Milan, a public institution dedicated to scientific research and teaching, which does not interfere with the editors' freedom of choice and their activities, as long as they are consistent with the journal's academic mission.
2.3 Metrics and decision-making
Editors undertake not to influence the journal's ranking by artificially increasing its metrics. In particular, it is ensured that the review of submitted articles is based on purely academic criteria and that authors are not induced to cite specific publications for non-scientific reasons.
3. Confidentiality
3.1 Authors' materials
Articles for publication are selected through a double-blind peer review process. Reviewers are chosen by the editors, who undertake to protect the confidentiality of authors' materials and remind reviewers to do likewise. Submissions are never shared with editors of other journals, unless in agreement with the author or in cases of alleged misconduct (see below). Editors do not provide information on the status of the submission to anyone other than the author themselves. Proposal submission software prevents unauthorised access. Only in the event of an investigation into misconduct may it be necessary to make the material available to third parties (e.g. an institutional investigation committee or other editors).
3.2 Reviewers
The identity of reviewers is always kept secret, unless alleged or suspected misconduct forces the journal to reveal their names to third parties.
General publishing policies
4. Transparency and publication ethics
The journal aims to provide authors, readers, reviewers and all other stakeholders with maximum transparency and full and honest reporting on its work
4.1 Authorship and responsibility
All authors of works published in the journal take responsibility for their own conduct and the validity of their research and what they have written. The authors are aware that all content is distributed under a 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution - International - CC-BY licence. Should a dispute over authorship arise, this will be resolved in the appropriate institutional fora or through other independent bodies. Editors will then act accordingly, e.g. by correcting the authorship of published works.
4.2 Conflict of interest and sources of funding
Authors are required to declare any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest when submitting their proposals for publication in the journal. The declaration of conflict of interest is published at the same time as the submission so that readers are informed about it.
4.3 Editorial Ethics of the Authors
Editors strive to ensure that all published articles make an innovative contribution to their field. They discourage publication of the minimum publishable portion of a study, avoid duplication of a publication unless it is fully stated and acceptable to all (e.g. publication in a different language with cross-references), and encourage authors to place their contribution in the context of pre-existing research (e.g. to explain why this work was necessary, what it adds, or why a replication of previous research was needed).
5. Response to criticism and comments
The journal welcomes and encourages criticism and debate.
5.1 Integrity of the published record - corrections.
When genuine errors in works published in the journal are pointed out by readers, authors or editors, if they do not invalidate the work as a whole, a correction will be published as soon as possible. The paper will be corrected with a correction date. If the error invalidates the work or substantial parts of it, the paper will be withdrawn with an explanation of the reason for the retraction ('honest error'). Retracted documents will be stored online and will be prominently marked in all online versions, including the PDF, for the benefit of future readers.
5.2 Integrity of published material - suspected misconduct.
If readers, reviewers or others raise serious doubts about the conduct, validity or reporting of works published in the journal, the editors will contact the authors and allow them to respond to the comments. If this response is not satisfactory, the editors will take the case to the appropriate institutional fora. The journal editors respond to comments on misconduct in published work made by organisations concerned with research integrity. Editors may decide on their own to withdraw a paper if they are convinced that serious misconduct has occurred even if the outcome of an investigation by a national institution or body does not require it. Editors will respond to all allegations or suspicions of misconduct in research or publication raised by readers, reviewers or other editors. In general, they recognise a collective responsibility for documenting the research activity of the journal and will act whenever they become aware of possible misconduct, wherever possible.
5.3 Encouraging academic debate
The journal welcomes readers' critiques of published works and will consider publishing them to foster scholarly debate, provided they are submitted in a timely manner. Authors of original works will be given the opportunity to respond to further promote debate. Any criticism that points to possible misconduct will be thoroughly investigated even if received long after publication.
6. Ensuring a fair and adequate peer review process
Editors organise and use peer review. Peer review processes are clearly explained on the author information page on the journal website, where it is also indicated which parts of the journal are peer-reviewed.
6.1 Review decisions
Editors may reject an article without review if it is deemed to be of poor quality or inappropriate for the purposes of the journal. This decision is made fairly and impartially and the criteria are made explicit to the author. The decision not to accept a paper is based solely on its academic content and is not influenced by the nature of the authors or their institution of origin.
6.2 Interaction with reviewers
Editors use appropriate reviewers for contributions considered interesting for publication, selecting experienced persons and avoiding those with conflicts of interest. Editors ensure that reviews are received in a timely manner. Reviewers are told what is expected of them and are informed of any changes in editorial policies. Reviewers are asked to consider the ethical aspects of the research and publication (i.e. whether they believe the research was conducted ethically or whether they suspect plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or redundant publication). Editors require a formal conflict of interest declaration from reviewers and ask to be informed about such conflicts of interest as soon as possible so that they can make a decision on whether an impartial review is possible. The presence of conflicts of interest may disqualify a peer review.
Editors emphasise the confidentiality of material for reviewers.
6.3 Reviewer misconduct
Editors consider auditor misconduct and pursue any allegations of breach of confidentiality, failure to declare conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), inappropriate use of confidential material or delaying the audit for competitive advantage. Allegations of serious auditor misconduct, such as plagiarism, are taken to the Institution.
6.4 Interaction with authors
Journal editors make it clear to authors that the reviewing role is to provide recommendations on acceptance or rejection. Editors' correspondence is usually with the corresponding author, who is responsible for involving co-authors at all stages. Editors communicate with all authors at submission and at the final acceptance stage to ensure that all authors are aware of the submission and have approved publication. Normally, editors transmit all reviewer comments in their entirety. However, in exceptional cases, it may be necessary to exclude parts of a review if, for instance, it contains defamatory or offensive remarks.
Editors ensure that this editorial discretion is not used inappropriately to suppress uncomfortable comments. If there are good reasons to involve additional reviewers late in the process, this is clearly communicated to the authors. The final editorial decision and the reasons for this are clearly communicated to authors and reviewers. If an article is rejected, the editors welcome the authors' requests for review. The editors, however, are not obliged to overturn their decision.
7. Editorial decision-making process
Editors ensure that publication decisions are as fair and impartial as possible.
7.1 Editorial processes
All editorial processes are explained in the information for authors on the De Musica web page, where it is indicated what is expected of authors, what types of articles are published and how they are managed by the journal. All editors are thoroughly familiar with the policies, vision and scope of the journal. The final responsibility for all decisions lies with the editor-in-chief.
7.2 Editorial conflicts of interest
The editors of De Musica are not involved in decisions on submissions in which they have a conflict of interest, e.g. if they work or have worked at the same institution and have collaborated with authors, if they own shares in a certain company, or if they have a personal relationship with authors. The journal has established a procedure for handling submissions sent by editors or members of the editorial board to ensure the impartial and independent handling of such submissions. This procedure is described in the information for authors.
