The American Musicological Society was founded in 1934 as a non-profit organization to advance "research in the various fields of music as a branch of learning and scholarship," a mission that has since evolved to include teaching and learning about music in addition to research. In 1951 the Society became a constituent member of the American Council of Learned Societies. At present, 3,500 individual members and 1,000 institutional subscribers from forty nations are on the rolls of the Society.
Honorary and Corresponding members of the AMS are those scholars "who have made outstanding contributions to furthering its stated object and whom the Society wishes to honor."