P.O. Box 37012, MRC 520
20013-7012 Washington DC
USA

http://www.folkways.si.edu,www.smithsonianglobalsound.org

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are...

public contact

• phone: 1 202 633 64 51
• fax: 1 202 633 64 77
• email: folkways@si.edu

business contact

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activities

• Institution
  • Cult.Inst.
  • Educational
  • Library/Archive
  • Non-Governmental
  • Research/Science
• Press
  • Online
• Records
  • Label
• Trade
  • Mail Order
  • Online-Shop
  • Wholesale

visited events

• WOMEX 2001
• WOMEX 2006

company description

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. We believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of our critically acclaimed and award winning audio CDs and educational materials we seek to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others.



Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label (founded 1988) produces new recordings and reissues on CD and is distributed by its mail order division and independent distributors internationally.



In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution acquired Folkways Records, founded in 1948 by Moses Asch. The more than 2100 albums comprise approximately 30,000 musical performances, songs, narratives, rituals, oral traditions, sounds and spoken word recordings from around the world. More recent acquisitions include more than 10,000 tracks comprising the Collector, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor and Paredon labels.

In 2005 Smithsonian launched Smithsonian Global Sound (www.smithsonianglobalsound.org) and began to distribute its online catalogue worldwide, along with contributions from ILAM in South Africa and ARCE in India. More organizations are joining in 2007.