World music CDs

This is the guide to the world music CD: it defines the format, breaks it into the compilation series and the album releases, and points at how a listener builds a collection of the world music on disc.

What a world music CD is

What a world music CD is is a compact disc that carries the world music, and it is the format the small label scene presses and distributes for the genre. The disc holds 74 or 80 minutes of music, which is enough for 10 to 14 tracks of a single artist's album or a set of tracks from a compilation. The world music CD is the same disc as any other CD, and the difference is the music on it, the world, folk, and fusion the small label scene releases. The format is the one that carries the album tradition of the world music, because the 30 to 40 minute album fits the disc and the 74 minute capacity holds the full record with room for the bonus track. The world music CD is the format, and the scene releases and distributes it through the same channel as the rest of the catalogue.

The compilation series

The compilation series is the set of world music CDs that gather the music from a region or a theme onto one disc, and it is the format a new listener uses to sample the genre. A world music compilation is a disc that holds 12 to 16 tracks from a set of artists, and it is the entry point for the listener who wants to hear the range of the genre before buying a single artist's album. The major compilation series of the 1990s put the world music on the shelf for a new audience, and they are the discs that introduced the genre to the listener who had not heard it. The small label scene releases its own compilations, and they gather the artists of the scene onto one disc so the listener can hear the family at once. The compilation series is the sampler of the world music, and it is the format the scene uses to introduce the genre.

The 1990s releases and the album format

The 1990s releases and the album format are the discs that built the world music shelf, and they are the records a collector looks for. The 1990s was the decade the world music CD grew, and the album releases of the decade put the artist's full record on the disc for the first time. The world music album of the 1990s is a 30 to 40 minute record of 10 to 12 tracks, and it is the format the scene still presses today. The releases of the decade are the ones the collector values, because they were pressed in a run and they are now out of print, and the small label scene carries the reissues and the new pressings of the world music from the era. The 1990s album is the core of the collection, and it is the record the scene releases and distributes in the format the listener buys.

How to build or buy a collection

How to build or buy a collection is easier with a rule, and the rule is to start with the compilation and follow the artist. The listener starts with a world music compilation to sample the genre, and they follow the artist they like to the artist's own album, and they build the shelf from there. The format to buy is the CD, because it holds the full album and it is the format the scene presses, and the 74 or 80 minute disc is the one that carries the 30 to 40 minute record with room to spare. The collection is built over time, a few records a year, and it is built through the small label channel, which is the channel the scene releases and distributes the world music on. The 3 steps are the compilation, the album, and the channel, and they are the path a listener takes to build the world music CD shelf.

Where to start

1. WORLD MUSIC A GLOBALA Global Journey CDA Global Journey is a world music compilation CD that surveys the music of the world by region across a set of volumes.2. WHAT MUSIC CDS AREWhich music CDs have valueWhich music CDs have value is a question the collector asks before buying or selling a disc, and the answer is that the value sits in the pressing.

Other sections

FOLKIndie Folk MusicIndie folk is a branch of independent music in which the singer-songwriter tradition of the 1960s folk revival is rebuilt on the small-label.JAMWhat Is a Jam BandA jam band is a group that builds its music around long live improvisation, taking a song written in the studio and opening it up on stage into 10.BLUES & ROCKWhat blues rock music really isBlues rock is a genre that takes the 12 bar blues structure and the call and response phrasing of the blues and plays it through an amplified electric.SINGER-SONGWRITERSinger-Songwriter ArtistsSinger songwriter is a style of independent music in which one person writes, sings, and plays their own songs.WORLDWorld music songs worth hearingWorld music is a song that comes from a tradition outside the Western pop and rock mainstream, and the term covers the folk.LABELSIndependent record labelsAn independent record label is a company that releases and distributes music without the backing of one of the 4 major groups.DISTRIBUTIONHow small labels distribute musicSmall label distribution is the set of channels a small independent label uses to get its music into the stores, the streaming platforms.CIRCUITIndie Folk CircuitThe indie folk circuit is the network of festivals, touring loops, and venues that the indie folk and the jam band scene plays through.