RILM Releases Digital Archive of Independent Music Magazines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) has launched the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines (RAPMM), preserving in a digital format for the first time several valuable, rare, and largely unknown independently published music magazines.

This continuously expanding, fully searchable collection features over 125 magazines and fanzines published from the late 1960s to the present. Taking as its foundation previously uncatalogued print periodicals received from the Stan Getz Library at Berklee College of Music, RAPMM’s scope is broad, with content that highlights the expansive world of punk, rock, indie, hip hop, and country. Containing zines published in Australia, North and South America, Asia, and Europe, it is an international, multilingual research resource that underscores RILM’s broader mission as a UNESCO accredited NGO.

RAPMM’s publications include articles on the history of musical genres and their relation to politics and society, social movements from punk to feminism, subcultures, and stylistic shifts. RAPMM is interdisciplinary in the truest sense, providing great value to researchers in music studies, cultural studies, fashion, political science, literature, gender studies, and beyond. 

The zines offer first-hand accounts of journalists, critics, artists, and fans; and some provide feminist perspectives. Readers will also find interviews with widely recognized and fairly unknown artists at different stages of their careers, as well as band profiles, album reviews and charts, and histories of record labels. Far from being detached spectators, the authors, editors, and illustrators featured in RAPMM actively participate in the musical worlds they write about and represent them in artful graphic designs, unique typographies, and photographs. 

Dr. Tina Frühauf, Executive Director of RILM, noted: “At RILM, we are committed to preserving and expanding access to the rich and diverse world of music scholarship. The launch of the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines (RAPMM) marks a major step forward in that mission. By digitizing and cataloguing these rare, often overlooked publications—from punk and hip hop to indie and country—we are ensuring that vital voices in music culture are not lost to time. This archive opens up new possibilities for global, interdisciplinary research and highlights the deep interconnections between music, identity, and social change.

“Popular music zines have played a crucial role in shaping music research, yet their ephemeral nature and sporadic inclusion in library collections have made them largely inaccessible for scholarly work,” said RILM Executive Editor, Dr. Zdravko Blažekovic. “RAPMM brings together zines from different regions and in multiple languages, ensuring their preservation and accessibility in an unparalleled archival effort.”

RAPMM is available on Egret, a cutting-edge platform with advanced search and browsing capabilities, facilitating the work of anyone who deals with popular music in its manifold expressions. Egret offers a customizable viewer experience that meets the current demands of accessibility while replicating, as much as possible, the act of paging through physical issues, which come in multiple sizes and formats. Publications are available in high resolution and are easily readable.

About RILM
Founded in 1966, the Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) is a global organization dedicated to documenting and making accessible the world’s musical knowledge across all traditions. Through digital collections and advanced tools, RILM serves research and performance communities worldwide. It is committed to preserving music scholarship in all languages, spanning cultural and disciplinary boundaries within the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Accredited by UNESCO, RILM plays a key role in safeguarding global musical heritage. Its headquarters are located at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York. 

For more information, please visit https://www.rilm.org/rapmm/

Michael Lupo (he/him/his), Marketing & Media 

RILM International Center
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3108  •  New York, NY 10016-4309
Michael Lupo  •  Phone 1 212 817 8601  •  www.rilm.org