Born in Bonn, von Massow studied musicology, philosophy and modern German literature at the University of Freiburg from 1982 to 1988.
As a research assistant, he contributed to the Handwörterbuch der musikalischen Terminologie [de].
His dissertation dealt with "Half-world, culture and nature in Berg's Lulu and was graded summa cum laude.
In 2000, Von Massow won his habilitation at the Technical University of Dortmund with the thesis "Musikalisches Subjekt – Idee und Erscheinung in der Moderne".
Von Massow is founder, supervisor and co-editor of the series KlangZeiten - Musik, Politik und Gesellschaft, which has been published since 2004.