IU Resources
Indiana University is a major research center for the study of black music. In addition to the Archives of African American Music and Culture, the Bloomington campus offers the following programs and collections:
African American Arts Institute
One of the premier university performing arts programs in the nation, the AAAI seeks to promote and preserve African American culture through performance, education, creative activity, research, and outreach. The AAAI’s performing ensembles include the IU Soul Revue, the African American Dance Company, and the African American Choral Ensemble.
African American & African Diaspora Studies Department
The multidisciplinary Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies creates and shares with academic and nonacademic communities’ scholarship of the highest quality dealing with the broad range of the African American and African diasporic experience.
Archives of Traditional Music
The largest university-based ethnographic sound archives in the U.S., the ATM is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the world's music and oral traditions. The collection includes cylinders, audio and video tapes, as well as original manuscripts, correspondence, and field materials of some of the field's most influential scholars. Holdings include field recordings of early African American music in addition to thousands of commercial recordings of popular music including jazz and blues.
Black Film Center/Archive
The BFC is a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. Included are films which have substantial participation by African Americans as writers, actors, producers, directors, musicians, and consultants, as well as those which depict some aspect of black experience.
Ethnomusicology Institute
The internationally recognized Ethnomusicology Institute emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of music and culture throughout the world. Course offerings cover various facets of African American sacred and secular music traditions.
IU Libraries
The Indiana University Libraries homepage provides links to all campus libraries and collections as well as IUCAT, the online catalog, and other databases and services.
Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library
A branch of the IU Libraries, the BCC Library is a distinguished reference and information center that provides networking, cultural research, and bibliographic instruction and learning for students, faculty, and staff.
William & Gayle Cook Music Library
The Cook Music Library, recognized as one of the largest academic music libraries in the United States with over 600,000 items, serves the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music and Bloomington Campus of Indiana University. The library’s Black Music Collection, established in 1970, includes over 3,000 books, scores, and recordings.
Internet Resources
African American Culture and History
African American Mosaic
Library of Congress resource guide for the study of black history and culture.
Africans in America
Developed by WGBH to accompany the PBS documentary.
Voices of the Civil Rights
A collaboration between the AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress.
African American Music
African American History & Heritage Site
Developed with support from the Society for American Music, the music section of this site includes sacred, secular, and classical music resources
Black Grooves
Music review website sponsored by the Archives of African American Music and Culture.
NPR Music
Hosted by NPR, this site offers news, articles, and links to radio programs in various genres including rock, pop, jazz, classical, hip hop, r&b/soul, folk, Latin, world, and electronic/dance music.
Vibe
This popular urban culture magazine’s website provides news, reviews, videos and articles relating primarily to hip hop and R&B music.
African Diaspora
African Diaspora Studies
Guide compiled by Columbia University Libraries African Studies Department.
AfroCubaWeb
Source for information about Afro-Cuban/Latin music.
Afropop Worldwide
A weekly public radio program showcasing the contemporary musical cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe.
Blues
American Blues Scene
Features blues music reviews, interviews, and articles covering both contemporary music and the history of the blues.
Blues Foundation
Memphis-based organization whose mission is to preserve blues heritage, celebrate blues recording and performance, and expand worldwide awareness of the blues.
Early Blues
British-based site offering a diverse range of topics from history, research and publications to artists and festivals.
Classical Music
African American Art Song Alliance
Links to composers, performers and scholars of African American art songs.
AfriClassical.com
Guide to black history and classical music with biographies, discographies, teacher's guide and extensive links.
Afrocentric Voices in Classical Music
Focus on African American composers and performers and on the vocal forms they influenced.
Classical Music Recordings of Black Composers
Comprehensive reference guide to recorded works available on compact discs (infrequently updated).
Gospel Music and Spirituals
BlackGospel.com
Clearinghouse for information and products pertaining to black gospel music.
Gospel Flava
Gospel music industry site offering news, reviews, interviews, and artist profiles.
Gospel Music Association (GMA)
Industry organization site covering gospel and contemporary Christian artists.
Journal of Gospel Music
Online resource for gospel music news, reviews, and scholarship.
N Time Music
Contemporary gospel music.
Spirituals Database
Searchable access to recording of over 3,800 Negro Spiritual settings performed by solo Classical vocalists.
Spirituals Research
Blog and research guide by Oberlin music librarian Kathleen Abromeit.
Hip-Hop
Cornell University Hip Hop Collection
Focuses on the history of hip hop, from its emergence in the Bronx in the 1970s through the present.
Davey D's Hip Hop Corner
History, commentary, and interviews from radio personality and hip hop activist, historian, and scholar Davey D.
Hiphop Archive and Research Institute (HARI)
Harvard University site featuring online exhibitions, news, a blog, and searchable bibliography.
HipHopDX
Online magazine of hip hop music offering news, interviews, music criticism and news News, Interviews, Music & Reviews.
Hip Hop Weekly
Website featuring videos, music, news, photos, and more covering Hip Hop culture.
Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archives
Site provides a searchable database of song lyrics submitted by listeners.
The Source
Urban culture and entertainment publication covering hip hop music.
XXL
This popular hip hop magazine’s website offers articles, music reviews, news, and lists of new releases.
Jazz
A Passion for Jazz
Jazz music history, education and music lessons, biographies and events.
All About Jazz
Newsletter, articles, event calendars, and directories.
Jazz in America
Website hosted by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz devoted to education.
Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
Web site hosted by PBS offering interactive exhibits documenting the history of jazz in America, biographies with audio, and links to other jazz-related PBS programs.
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program
Transcriptions and recordings of oral histories of NEA Jazz Masters.
Music Educational Materials
Black History Teaching Resources
Smithsonian Education site providing access to event calendars, multimedia materials, biographies, reading lists, and exhibition information.
Blues Classroom
Website hosted by PBS for The Blues educational outreach campaign, created by Experience Music Project, providing lesson plans for the integration of blues music, culture, and history into grades 9-12 classrooms.
Flocabulary: Hip-Hop in the Classroom
A commercial site offering educational hip hop resources for use in the classroom, including lesson plans and audiovisual materials.
Jazz in America
Public school-based jazz curriculum with lesson plans sponsored by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Digital Learning
Offers lesson plans, listening guides, live streaming, and digital classroom modules on the history of rock and roll.
Music Organizations
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
Association for Recorded Sound Collections
Black Rock Coalition
Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts
Gospel Music Workshop of America
International Association for the Study of Popular Music
Living Legends Foundation
National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music
National Association of Negro Musicians
National Rhythm & Blues Music Society
Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology
Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Society for American Music
Music Research Centers and Museums
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MO
ARChive of Contemporary Music, New York, NY
B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, Indianola, MS
Blues Archives, University of Mississippi
Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College
Center for Popular Music, Middle Tennessee State University
Center for Southern African-American Music, University of South Carolina
Chicago Blues Experience, Chicago, IL
Chicago Jazz Archive, University of Chicago
Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale, MS
DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL
The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center, Dayton, OH
Grammy Museum, Los Angeles
Grammy Museum Mississippi, Cleveland, Mississippi
Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute, Harvard University
Hogan Jazz Archive, Tulane University
Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University
Motown Historical Museum, Detroit
National Blues Museum, St. Louis, MO
National Museum of African American Music, Nashville, TN (opening in 2019)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Library and Archives, Cleveland
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC
Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Memphis
Universal Hip Hop Museum, Bronx, New York
Popular Music
All Music Guide
Extensive artist biographies and discographies as well as informative essays on many popular music genres including jazz, reggae, blues, rap, and gospel.
Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk
Funkatopia
A hub for all things funk including concerts, news, and album reviews.
Motown Alumni Association
Photographs and biographies of Motown artists.
SoulMusic.com
Founded by soul music historian/author/reissue producer David Nathan, this site provides a mixture of current and archival content covering both contemporary and classic R&B and soul music artists, including reviews and interviews.
Soul Patrol
Online newsletter offering news, interviews, biographies, and reviews.
SoulTracks
Online resource dedicated to classic and modern soul music.
Rock and Afro-punk
Afro-punk website
Website devoted to the Afro-punk movement, movie, and festival; includes band profiles, a blog, and community forums.
Black Rock Coalition
The oldest and largest organization devoted to supporting and promoting African American rockers; includes concert announcements, podcasts, photo galleries, and information on how to join the BRC.