The Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (Sempre) was founded in 1972, growing out of the Reading Conferences on Research in Music Education that were started in 1966 by Arnold Bentley. Originally known as the 'Society for Research in Psychology of Music and Music Education' ('SRPMME'), Sempre remains to this day the only society which embraces research in both music education and music psychology, providing an international forum to encourage the exchange of ideas and to disseminate research findings.

The Society is particularly keen to encourage the participation of those at the start of their research career and to maintain a broad membership that reflects the considerable range of interests that are represented within music education and the psychology of music. Membership includes free copies of the journal, reduced fees for attendance at conferences, and entitlement to apply for a range of financial awards that are intended to foster new research and assist the work of new researchers.