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What's Included

Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World

The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, over 20 years in the making, is a landmark reference work in its field, edited by John Shepherd, David Horn and Dave Laing. When complete, it will comprise 14 volumes. Contributions are authored by top scholars and experts from around the world, and include extensive discographies and bibliographies.

Part One (2003, edited by John Shepherd, David Horn, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver and Peter Wicke) includes in-depth scholarly articles on topics such as social phenomena, the industry, broadcasting, copyright, publishing, record labels and recording studios, performance techniques, instruments and musical form.

  • Volume 1: Media, Industry & Society,
  • Volume 2: Performance and Production

Part Two: Locations (2005, edited by David Horn, Dave Laing and John Shepherd) gives systematic geographic coverage of every continent. Each volume discusses the history, development and current practice of popular music in cities, districts, cross-border regions, nation states and diasporic communities within each region:

  • Volume 3: Caribbean and Latin America
  • Volume 4: North America
  • Volume 5: Asia and Oceania
  • Volume 6: Africa and the Middle East
  • Volume 7: Europe

Part Three: Genres contain entries on the genres of music that have been or currently are popular in countries and communities all over the world, with discussions of their cultural, historical and geographic origins, and formal musical characteristics. These volumes are organised by geographic regions, as follows:

  • Volume 8: North America (2012), edited by David Horn and John Shepherd
  • Volume 9: Caribbean and Latin America (2014), edited by David Horn, Heidi Feldman, Mona-Lynn Courteau, Pamela Narbona Jerez and Hettie Malcomson
  • Volume 10: Middle East and North Africa, edited by Richard C. Jankowsky (2015)
  • Volume 11: Europe, edited by Paolo Prato and David Horn (2017)
  • Volume 12, Part One: Africa, Sub-Saharan, edited by Heidi Feldman (2019)
  • Volume 12, Part Two: International, edited by David Horn and John Shepherd (forthcoming)
  • Volume 13: Asia, & General index, edited by Roy Shuker, David Horn and John Shepherd (forthcoming)

33 1/3 Series 

33 1/3 is a series of short books about popular music, focusing on individual albums by artists ranging from James Brown to Neutral Milk Hotel. Each album covered in the series occupies a specific place in music history, so each book-length treatment takes an individualized approach. 33 1/3 is widely acclaimed by fans, musicians, and scholars alike. 

Global 33 1/3 Series

The Global 33 1/3 Series takes the 33 1/3 format of short, album-based books, and brings the focus to music throughout the world. With initial volumes focusing on Japanese and Brazilian music, the series will also include volumes on the popular music of Australia/Oceania, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and more.

Discover more about 33 1/3:

Scholarly Books on Popular Music Studies

The Bloomsbury Popular Music Studies list consists of an expanding range of scholarly books ranging from edited volumes to biographies to historical overviews, and that span genres, including rock, pop, hip hop, and punk. Titles include and David Boucher’s Dylan and Cohen, James Braxton Peterson’s Hip Hop Headphones and Kevin Dunn’s Global Punk.