About RILM Music Encyclopedias

RILM Music Encyclopedias is an ever-expanding full-text compilation of reference works that facilitates unprecedented combined searches. It provides comprehensive encyclopedic coverage of the most important fields and subject areas of historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and theory, with topics ranging from popular music and rock, opera, instruments, and blues and gospel to recorded music and women composers. Its content spans multiple countries and languages—currently English, German, French, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Portuguese, Slovak, and Spanish. New encyclopedias are being added annually and the Komponisten der Gegenwart receives periodic updates. In 2026, the collection includes 75 titles published from 1775 to the present and comprising over 353,000 entries.