Robert Lyons
Senior Executive-in-Residence and Graduate Program Director, School of Communication
Robert Lyons has over 20 years experience in media, including director of new media for radio and TV at WGBH in Boston, where he oversaw digital operations, streaming, mobile apps, and podcast production across multiple radio services and television channels.
In addition to digital media, his professional background also includes producing national and international live radio concert broadcasts and recording/engineering. His work in digital media has earned him a Major Armstrong Award for Technical Innovation and multiple gold medals from the International Radio Festival of New York.
Lyons has published and presented extensively on music streaming, artificial intelligence, and digital media landscapes, with a particular focus on the Chinese market. He is the co-creator and director of Emerson’s Blueprinting Innovation Global Pathways programs in Stockholm, Sweden, and Singapore.
Prior to joining Emerson’s faculty, he served as executive professor and as lecturer in the Music Industry program at the College of Arts, Media and Design of Northeastern University, and adjunct associate professor at Berklee College of Music.
Courses
- Senior Residency I
- Strategic Management
- Senior Residency II
- BCE Directed Study
- Topics in Business Enterprise
- Business Fundamentals for the Creative Enterprise
- Topics in Business Enterprises
Academic Work
- 2026, principal author of a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Global Music Industries: Context and Controversy-China’s Music Industry Comes of Age, Oxford University Press
- 2019, “AI/Machine Learning in the Music Industry: An Overview of US and China,” Music Creates Future: Cross-Border Talent and Industry Prosperity, Tsinghua University
- 2019, “Mobile Music Streaming in China: A Vibrant Industry in a Tough Market,” The Journal of Music Business, Berklee College of Music
- 2018, “Technology Trends in Music,” International Music Industry Forum, Communication University of China, Beijing
- 2017, “An Ecosystem Lens: Putting China’s Digital Music Industry into Focus,” with Tang, D., Global Media in China, Vol. 1, No. 4
- 2017, “China: A glimpse of the future of music streaming,” China Policy Institute, Nottingham University