New music blog to recommend recordings, books, videos, and Web sites for libraries, students, faculty, and music lovers

ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 12, 2010—Alexander Street today announced the launch of a new music blog, Music Media Monthly, “a guide to the best recent (and sometimes not-so-recent) sound recordings, music-related books, videos, and Web sites.” Online at www.musicmediamonthly.com, the blog is designed to be a resource for music and media librarians, music students and teaching faculty, and music lovers.

Sponsored by Music Online publisher Alexander Street and updated monthly, the blog is independently edited by Rick Anderson who is Associate Director for Scholarly Resources and Collections at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library; founder and editor of CD HotList: New Releases for Libraries; and the former editor of the “Sound Recording Reviews” column for Notes, the quarterly journal of the Music Library Association. Anderson will write Music Media Monthly’s introductory note for each issue, as well as the Recordings column, which will cover significant new releases and reissues (both CDs and downloads), along with recommendations for related backlist titles.

Co-bloggers on the site include composer, music columnist and critic Steve Dankner, who will head up the site’s Books column, which will cover significant and upcoming music-related titles, reprints, and new editions from both leading trade publishers and scholarly presses.

Anne Shelley, an assistant librarian at the University of Minnesota and the editor of the Digital Media Reviews column for Notes, will write the Videos column for Music Media Monthly, focusing on new releases as well as remasterings, reissues, and old titles being released in new formats.

Veteran music writer Gene Hyde, who also writes for CD Hotlist and was previously curator of the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection at Lyon College, will head up the Web Sites column, looking at important new Web resources as well as lesser known sites that deserve to be more widely read. He will also identify sites with interesting free streaming, sample, or download offerings and cover news about changes or important new content on existing music Web sites.

Says Anderson, “This is a challenging but also an exciting time in music publishing—formats and delivery options are changing rapidly, and it’s hard to keep up with all of it. On the other hand, there have never been as many outlets and options for music content as there are today. This blog will fill a real need, I think, by focusing on music media—the best music content, regardless of format or delivery option.”

“In the blog’s inaugural issue,” says Anderson, “you’ll find discussion of a new book on Phish and a new-ish book on Gladys Knight & the Supremes; an in-depth review of a Web site that archives the content of the gone and much-lamented No Depression magazine; a video documentary on Joan Baez; a John McLaughlin concert DVD; and new CD releases in a wide variety of genres.”

Alexander Street Music Online editor Liz Dutton pointed out the alignment of the blog’s approach to that of Alexander Street’s Music Online. “Our goal is to deliver the best music content—recordings, scores, full-text reference, and video—regardless of format, and to make it as accessible and as cross-searchable as possible.” Emphasizing the blog’s editorial independence, Dutton said, “We’re excited to be sponsoring this well-crafted approach to music coverage—so watch this space!”

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About Alexander Street Press
Alexander Street Press is an electronic publisher of award-winning online collections in the humanities, social sciences, performing arts, and music. Alexander Street’s Music Online is a fully cross-searchable suite of hundreds of thousands of classical, jazz, American, and world music recordings; scores; and pages of full-text reference content. Alexander Street collections are available to library and educational institutions via annual subscription or, in some cases, outright purchase of perpetual rights.

Reviewers, media contacts, libraries, and university faculty may request trial access to Alexander Street online collections by emailing Meg Keller at mkeller@alexanderstreet.com or phoning 703-212-8520 x116 for a username and password.

Contact Details
Meg Keller, Director of Marketing
Alexander Street Press
3212 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-212-8520 x 116 / 202-641-7819 (mobile)
mkeller@alexanderstreet.com
http://alexanderstreet.com