Jim Mason

Programme Leader for BA Music Production and Co-Programme Leader for BA Music Production & Performance

School for the Creative Industries
Jim Mason

Jim joined us in 2001 and is a graduate of the University of Salford in Popular Music and Recording. He has had commercial success, mainly as a producer and remixer of commercial dance music, working with a number of different labels. Jim has also undertaken a wide range of other music-related work.

Jim has worked professionally as a composer, lyricist, producer, engineer, remixer, performer and music chord transcriber.

In various capacities, he has had key involvement with fifteen hit singles on major UK club charts (including two No.2 hits), and key involvement with Top 40 hit singles on the Official UK Singles Chart.

He has also had success worldwide, including writing and producing a No.1 hit single on one of France’s major club charts, which also spent 7 weeks in the main French singles chart. 

Although Jim’s success has mainly been in commercial dance music, he has undertaken a wide variety of paid and non-paid music work, including playing piano on an alternative folk album, recording 16th century lute and viol music for a notable film, choir recording, performing as part of bands playing both “covers” and "originals", and writing and producing corporate video music, documentary theme music, telephone “on-hold” music and many other projects. 

Jim has also worked as a music chord transcriber and undertaken consultancy for a major University research project.  He has worked as a music researcher on behalf of the Performing Right Society, a songplugger for a record label / publisher, and for the Drake Music Project, a project helping disabled people make music with the help of technology.

Jim has presented a number of academic papers at music conferences, and has undertaken other academic work including contributing a chapter to an academic book on Pink Floyd in 2022.

In 1992, Jim toured Germany as a member of the National Youth Choir of Wales.

Jim graduated with First Class Honours in BA Popular Music And Recording from the University of Salford, and has an MA in Learning and Teaching in the Context of Higher Education from the University of Liverpool.

Having worked full time at the University since 2001, Jim has many years of HE teaching experience as Senior Lecturer / Programme Leader in Music Production, Commercial Music Production and Music Production and Promotion, and has also taught Radio Production, Popular Music Studies, Undergraduate Study Skills and Work Based Learning.

Book Chapter:

Mason, J.J. (2022). 'On The Run': The birth of electronic dance music?. In C. Hart & S. Morrison (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook Of Pink Floyd. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

External Conference Papers:

Mason, J.J. (2018, September). Can Harmonic Techniques Common in UK Singles Chart Music of the 1980s be Successfully Used in Music Targeting Today's UK Singles Chart?. Paper presented at the Crosstown Traffic Conference, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

Mason, J.J. (2016, January). The Hidden Brother: Nicky Graham and the Complexities of Songwriter / Producer Media Profiles. Paper presented at the Hidden Musicians Conference, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

Mason, J.J. (2014, November). Can The Sound of PWL Records from between 1987 and 1990 be a Powerful Influence on a Successful Record Released Today?. Paper presented at the One Hundred Years of Record Labels Conference, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.