For the more adventurous listener, Smithsonian Folkways catalogue includes such intriguing releases as An Actual Story in Sound of a Dog's Life (SFW CD 5580, 1958), Sounds of Insects (SFW CD 06178,1960), Crybaby: An Analysis of the Cry-Language of Babies (SFW CD 6275, 1973).
If you do not find the answer to your question below, please call our customer service line during our office hours at 1.888.FOLKWAYS.
What is Smithsonian Folkways Recordings?
What is a Custom CD?
Does Folkways still make LPs and/or cassettes?
Can I digitally download tracks from your catalog?
Do you have print catalogues? How can I get one?
Where do I send checks? To whom should they be made out?
Do you ship to P.O. Boxes?
What are your shipping rates?
Do you ship internationally? What are the rates?
How soon will I get my order? (domestic and int'l)
What is your returns and exchange policy?
Are there benefits for Smithsonian Members?
Do you offer discounts for retail shops, educational organizations, or distributors?
Do you have gift certificates?
Do you have a store? What museums carry your products?
What is Smithsonian Collection of Recordings?
Do you carry the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Big Band Box Set, or Folk Music Box?
How do I find out about the Smithsonian, museum hours, etc?
What is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival?
What are your office hours?
Do you sign new artists?
Why do you charge for recordings? Isn't the Smithsonian a public institution?
How can I support Smithsonian Folkways Recordings?
I want to use part of a Smithsonian Folkways recording in my own published project (such as a compilation CD, film, or website).
How does Smithsonian Folkways compensate artists?
What if I think I am due royalties?
What is Smithsonian Folkways Recordings?
Folkways Records was founded in 1948 in New York City by Moses Asch and Marian Distler. Under Asch's enthusiastic and dedicated direction, Folkways sought to record and document the entire world of sound. Between 1948 and Asch's death in 1986, Folkways' tiny staff released 2,168 albums. Topics included traditional, ethnic, and contemporary music from around the world; poetry, spoken word, and instructional recordings in numerous languages; and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, current events, and natural sounds.
In 1988 the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., acquired Folkways Records & Service Corp. as well as the label's business papers and files in order to ensure that the sounds and genius of its artists and compilers would continue to be available to future generations.
In the years since 1987, Smithsonian Folkways has continued to expand on Asch's legacy, adding several other record labels to the collections and releasing over 300 new recordings that document and celebrate the sounds of the world around us.
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What is a Custom CD?
Smithsonian Folkways commercial releases are available in retail stores or may be ordered through this website or by phone. However, older, less frequently requested titles are handled as "Custom" orders.
When you order a Custom CD, a high-quality CD-R is produced here at the Smithsonian from our archival collection. Custom titles are available only through Smithsonian Folkways Mail Order via phone, fax, or our website. (Custom titles can also be produced as cassette tapes.) Please allow up to two weeks for Custom CD orders. Custom titles are sold with a digital copy of the album's orginal liner notes on the CD.
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Does Folkways still make LPs and/or cassettes?
We have a limited number of LPs of Ella Jenkins childrens' titles. All custom made recordings are also available on cassettes. Many commercial titles are available on cassette, but most new releases are not. Please also contact customer service with any inquiries.
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Can I digitally download tracks from your catalog?
Our tracks are available for purchase and download from the album detail pages on this website and also from Smithsonian Global Sound (www.smithsonianglobalsound.org). SGS offers liner notes and educational material and is not limited to a particular operating system or portable music device.
Our recordings are also available at digital music stores, including iTunes and eMusic.
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Do you have print catalogues? How can I get one?
Yes. Our 2005 Smithsonian Folkways Catalogue is still available. A catalogue of our archival holdings is available as a PDF file. Visit here.
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Where do I send checks? To whom should they be made out?
Please make out all checks to Smithsonian Folkways. Specify your shipping address, quantity of order, catalog number of items and format (cassette/CD). All checks should be sent to:
Smithsonian Folkways
PO Box 37012, MRC 520, CG 2001
Washington, DC, 20013-7012
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Do you ship to P.O. Boxes?
Our shipments routinely are handled by FedEx, and therefore can only be delievered to FedEx "friendly" street addresses. However, upon request we can use first class mail to send purchases to P.O. Box addresses.
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What are your shipping rates?
Orders within the U.S. ship via Federal Express or 1st class mail. The rates for 1st class and Fedex are the same. Rates are calculated at time of order depending on destination and weight.
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Do you ship internationally? What are the rates?
International orders are shipped via air freight. Please pay by credit card (Master / Visa / Discover). Credit cards will be charged for actual shipping costs plus a (U.S.) $1.50 handling fee. Other shipping options are available on request.
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How soon will I get my order? (domestic and international)
Orders usually ship within 2-3 business days. Please allow more time when ordering Custom titles (see above). We also offer overnight deliever for an additional fee.
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What is your returns and exchange policy?
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings does not accept exchanges or returns on any of its items.In the rare instance you receive a defective item or an item different than the one you ordered, we will gladly replace it free of charge. Please return all defective and mis-shipped items and please include a return address and the original invoice number with the item(s).
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Are there benefits for Smithsonian Members?
Smithsonian Members receive a 10% discount on all Folkways recordings. To learn more about becoming a Smithsonian Member, please visit www.si.edu/members.
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Do you offer discounts for retail shops, educational organizations, or distributors?
Yes. We offer a 15% discount for all orders over $150. To set up a retail or distribution account, click here. If you are a library, visit here for more information on opportunities to partner with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
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Do you have gift certificates?
At the present time we do not offer gift certificates. They will be available shortly.
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Do you have a store? What museums carry your products?
Smithsonian Folkways is a direct mail order business; however, retailers throughout the country carry Smithsonian Folkways products. The Smithsonian museum shops in Washington, D.C. and New York also carry a number of our recordings.
Our recordings are also available for download online at www.smithsonianglobalosund.org.
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What is Smithsonian Collection of Recordings?
The Smithsonian Books and Recordings division, which carried many popular titles such as the SI Collection of Classic Jazz, Big Band Box Set, and Folk Music Box Set, ceased operations in 1998.
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Do you carry the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Big Band Box Set, or Folk Music Box?
At the present time Smithsonian Folkways does not offer these titles. We are working on a newly revised edition of the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz to be available in the 2nd half of 2009.
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How do I find out about the Smithsonian Institution, museums hours, etc?
Please visit the Smithsonian Institution's website at www.si.edu
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What is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival?
Each summer, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the divison within which Smithsonian Folkways operates, presents a major, multi-week free festival celebrating traditional culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. For infomation on the Festival, its history, and its schedule for the coming year, visit www.folklife.si.edu.
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What are your office hours?
Our office hours are 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST. However, you can place an order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within the USA by calling our toll free numbers 1-888-FOLKWAYS.
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Do you sign new artists?
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings does not "sign new artists," in that it does not seek exclusive contracts to record singular artists, support their touring activities, promote their careers, and so forth, as do most commercial record labels. Most of our recordings are connected to our nonprofit mission and consequently to broader aims of making our existing audio collections more accessible, collaborating on larger efforts such as the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and addressing the specific need to offer greater visibility to musical traditions that might be underrepresented in the marketplace. Folkways specializes in traditional and roots music, and most, if not all, of the small number of new artists whose recordings we publish each year are identified through Smithsonian fieldwork and research projects.
While Folkways appreciates artists thinking of us, we have neither the staff or the facilities to review unsolicited sample CDs or tapes, and discourage their submission.
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Why do you charge for recordings? Isn't the Smithsonian a public insitution?
The non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label is funded from sales of recordings and the occasional grant from a foundation, corporation or individual. We use neither taxpayer nor Smithsonian Trust funds for our label's business operations.
With the acquisiton of the Folkways and other record labels' master recordings and related materials, the Smithsonian took on the job of accounting and paying royalties to many persons and organizations around the globe, since much of the material is protected by copyright under U.S. law. We are proud of our fair royalty system, which supports artists (and heirs) in their communities and sustains the dynamic creative practices that foster cultural diversity.
The costs of running an operation like ours are significant, since many of our publications are chosen for how well they further our non-profit mission rather than commercial appeal. Please support Smithsonian Folkways by purchasing our recordings or making a tax-deductible donation.
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How can I support Smithsonian Folkways Recordings?
We are based in the U.S. national museum, but rely mainly on revenues, grants, private donations, and good will to survive and to carry out our non-profit mission. Please continue to buy our recordings, as sales revenues support our ongoing work. For information on making a financial contribution or volunteering your assistance, please visit here.
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I want to use part of a Smithsonian Folkways recording in my own published project (such as a compilation CD, film, or website).
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings owns and controls the rights to virtually all the master recordings in its collection. Smithsonian Institution does not control rights to the music compositions themselves, which are typically administered by music publishers. For permission to use our sound recordings, see our information on Licensing Requests.
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How does Smithsonian Folkways compensate artists?
Artists are compensated at an established royalty rate. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which established a royalty reform policy when it acquired Folkways Records in the late 1980s, pays royalties at rates that are, in most cases, more favorable than the royalty-reform rates that major labels instituted.
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What if I think I am due royalties?
With more than 35,000 recordings on 3000 albums dating back more than a half-century, locating artists and heirs is a challenge. If you are a Folkways artist, or rightful heir, and you are not already receiving semiannual royalties from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, please contact royalty manager Margot Nassau, nassaum@si.edu.
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