Music of the World

Music of the World is a World music record label that was active from 1982 to 2000. The company produced over 100 CDs and cassettes of traditional and contemporary artists from around the world. Nomad and Latitudes were imprint labels.

Music of the World was formed in New York in the early 1980s by Bob Haddad, an amateur ethnomusicologist, teacher and professional musician, who began to record demo tapes for traditional musicians in his apartment. Word began to spread among world music artists who needed recordings to sell at their gigs, and soon, world-class musicians began contacting Bob to ask for his help in producing recordings.

During these early years, and before a commercial consciousness of “world music” had developed, Music of the World was the only world music-based cassette music label in the West. Its catalog rapidly expanded to include artists from Africa, India, Asia, and Latin America, and in addition to opening accounts with major retailers across the US, the company… More