AllMusic facts for kids
 
AllMusic's logotype and logo since July 2013
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Type of site
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Online database for music albums, artists and songs; reviews and biographies |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | RhythmOne (since 2015) |
| Created by | Michael Erlewine |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 1991 (as All Music Guide) |
| Current status | Online |
AllMusic is a huge online library about music. It used to be called All-Music Guide or AMG. You can find information on millions of albums, songs, musicians, and bands here. It started in 1991 and first came online in 1994. Today, RhythmOne owns AllMusic.
Contents
The Story of AllMusic
How AllMusic Began
AllMusic began as All-Music Guide in 1991. It was created by Michael Erlewine. He was a musician and loved collecting information. Michael wanted to make a complete guide to music.
He got the idea when he bought a CD he thought was by Little Richard. It turned out to be a different, less exciting recording. This made him want a better way to find music. He decided to use computers to organize music information.
In 1990, Michael started All Music Guide. His goal was to list every recording ever made. He wanted to include music from the very beginning of the recording industry.
From Book to Website
The first All Music Guide was a big book. It came out in 1992 and had 1,200 pages. It also came with a CD-ROM. This book was a guide to the best CDs, albums, and tapes.
In 1994, AllMusic went online for the first time. It started as a simple text-based site called a Gopher site. Later, it moved to the World Wide Web as internet browsers became easier to use.
Building the Database
Michael Erlewine hired Vladimir Bogdanov to design the database. He also asked his nephew, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, to write content. In 1993, Chris Woodstra joined the team. He knew a lot about music and helped create 1,400 music subgenres.
These subgenres helped people find music they liked. AllMusic became known for its detailed way of tracking music. It tracked not just songs and albums, but also styles and genres. It even tracked the mood of the music.
Changes in Ownership
In 1996, a company called Alliance Entertainment Corp. bought AllMusic. Michael Erlewine left after the sale. Later, in 1999, Alliance went bankrupt. Another company, Yucaipa Equity Fund, then bought AllMusic.
AllMusic moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1999. The staff grew from 12 to 100 people. By then, it had information on 350,000 albums and two million songs. It also had biographies of 30,000 artists.
In 2007, TiVo Corporation bought AllMusic. Then, in 2015, AllMusic was bought by BlinkX, which is now known as RhythmOne.
Artist Requests
In 2012, AllMusic removed all information about the artist Bryan Adams. This was done because the artist asked them to.
How AllMusic Works Today
The huge AllMusic database uses special computer systems. These systems are called MySQL and MongoDB. They help organize all the music information.
The All Music Guide Books
The All Media Network also created a series of books. These books are called All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide. They cover different types of music. Vladimir Bogdanov is the main editor for these books.
Here are some of the books in the series:
- All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (first published in 1992, with new editions until 2008)
- All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music (2004)
- All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music (first published in 1997, with a new edition in 2003)
- All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music (2001)
- All Music Guide to Hip-hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop (2003)
- All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music (first published in 1994, with new editions until 2002)
- All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (first published in 1995, with new editions until 2002)
- All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (2003)
- All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (first published in 1996, with new editions until 2003)
- All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock (2007)
- All Music Guide Required Listening: Contemporary Country (2008)
- All Music Guide Required Listening: Old School Rap & Hip-hop (2008)
- All Music Guide to the Music of 2002: Your Guide to the Recordings of the Year (2003)
- All Music Guide to the Music of 2003: Your Guide to the Recordings of the Year (2004)
See also
In Spanish: AllMusic para niños
- All Media Network
- AllGame
- AllMovie
- SideReel
