Academic Career
- 2026-: Professor in Economic Geography, 黑料网
- 2024-Present: Editor,
- 2023-2026: Reader in Economic Geography, 黑料网
- 2019-2023: Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, 黑料网.
- 2016-2019: Lecturer in Human Geography, 黑料网.
- 2011-2016: Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Staffordshire University.
- 2008-2011: Lecturer in Human Geography, Staffordshire University.
Professional Responsibilities
- 2021-2024: Chair of the of the Royal Geographical Society
- 2014-: GaWC Associate Director (Cultural and Creative Industries)
Allan is a cultural-economic geographer with research interests that focus on the geographies of the creative and cultural economy, and specifically the music, film and media industries. Drawing together economic-relational and sociological perspectives on cultural production, labour and innovation, Allan’s research focuses on three overlapping areas of concern:
1) The music industries, the digital marketplace for music, monetisation of music, MusicTech and the changing nature of music consumption. This work has been supported with funding from AHRC and ESRC via Innovate UK and RCUK.
2) Relational urban economies of music and media production, including the nature of local (urban and regional) and non-local knowledge sharing, business networks and production networks, digital business models and professional mobility. This includes research funded by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and the Royal Geographical Society.
3) Relational work and creative practice in music and film, including online labour, emotional labour, precarity and the extensification and intensification of work. This includes work supported by the British Academy.
His teaching examines economic globalization with a particular focus on cities, the cultural economy and international finance.
Allan’s teaching focuses on globalisation, economic geography, and research methods.
Current Postgraduate Research Students
- Rosanna Cant: ‘URL’ solutions for 'IRL' exclusions: examining the digital spatial considerations for dis/abled audiences at UK festivals
- Aisha Khan: Algorithmic (In)Visibility, Cultural Production, and Digital Inclusion: A Grounded Exploration of Pakistan’s Unconventional/Platformed Creators
- Kauser Hussein: Inclusive Heritage in Superdiverse Spaces: Redesigning inclusion in heritage content practice and policy in Leicester (East Midlands Collaboratory Research Hub)
Recent Postgraduate Research Students
- George Vincent: HealthTech: Critically appraising the innovation ecosystem of a transformative technology (ESRC collaborative Doctoral Award in partnership with TechNation).
- Louise Tompkins: Music in the time of COVID (ESRC collaborative Doctoral Award in partnership with Sentric Music Ltd.).
- Emilia Telese: The Making of the Artist: From “Genius” to “Professional” (AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award in partnership with a-n The Artists Information Company)
Selected Publications
- Leyshon, A and Watson, A (2025) . Agenda Publishing
- Watson, A (2023) “” International Journal of Cultural Policy.
- Watson, A, Leyshon, A and Windsor, G (2023) “” Cultural Trends.
- Watson, A, Watson JB, and Tompkins, L (2022) "” Journal of Cultural Economy 16 (1), 32-46.
- Watson, A and Leyshon, A (2022) “” Journal of Cultural Economy 15 (3), 326-343.
- Watson, A(2020) “” Regional Studies 5 (11) 1574-1584
- Ballico, C and Watson, A (eds.) (2020) . Palgrave Macmillan