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Books

The following links point to books of interest to world fusion musicians:

• Ancient Traditions -- Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali and India (Matthew Montfort. Kentfield: Ancient Future Music, 1985).
• CBH Publications. South Indian music instruction books.
• Icelandic Music. Explores the relationship between ancient Icelandic music and the Icelandic punk rock movement.
• West Music World Music Publications. Catalog of books on world music.
• World Music Press. Excellent educational materials facilitating intercultural understanding through music.

General World Music

• Earthshaking Music. Quality world music instruments, books, CD's, videos, etc.
• Knock On Wood. U.K. supplier of world music books, supplies, recordings, etc.
• Lark in the Morning. A large collection of world music instruments, recordings, books, and sheet music.

Instruments

• Burnt Earth Ceramic Musical Instruments. See and hear unusual ceramic musical instruments. Drums, horns, didjeridus, flutes, and even string instruments and unique mutant hybrids.
• Carousel Music. Music company specializing in instruments from around the world and also World In Tune (tm), the integrative global music program for grades K-12.
• David Roman Drums. Darbuka and frame drum specialists. Invented a pneumatic tuning system that works with a simple bicycle pump.
• Ethnic Musical Instruments. Features instruments from around the world.
• Just Strings. The world's largest selection of guitar and bass guitar strings including the full line of over 35 different string manufacturers.
• High Tech Talking Drums. Talking drums mount on a stand and use foot pedal to change the pitch. Designed to easily integrate with drumset or percussion setups. Enables both hands.
• R G Hardie & Co - Bagpipes for sale. Suppliers of Highland Bagpipes, Pipe Chanters, Practice Chanters and Accessories, including Peter Henderson Bagpipes and the World Famous Airtight Seasoning for Sheepskin Bags.
• Rhythm Tech. The folks who make the half-moon tambourine and more.
• Tarang Indian instruments. Our offer comprises almost the complete range of Indian musical instruments.
• Woodsong. Handcrafted door harps, didgeridoos, marimbas and musical furniture.

Recordings:

CD's

Sites like Amazon.com are OK places to browse, but it is best to buy direct at artist sites such as Ancient-Future.Com or artist supportive sites such as CD Baby, where more of the money you spend actually goes to support the music instead of making tech overlords richer to the detriment of artists, local stores, and consumers. The following catalogs and record labels offer world music:

• Ancient Future Catalog. An on-line catalog of all the Ancient Future recordings and books. Order via credit card and a shopping cart system through a secure server. 100% of the proceeds go to support world music. Includes sound files of the group's music.
• ARC Music World & Folk Music Site. Over 320 albums spanning the globe. Africa to Egypt to Iceland and beyond. World music fusion blends to traditional folk.
• A.R.P. Music. American Recording Productions records and distributes Middle Eastern and world music in traditional and new age fusion styles.
• Alma Records. Label releasing world music.
• Blue Jackel Entertainment . Label releasing many award winning titles in jazz, world beat, Brazilian, and Latin categories.
• Borealis Records. Label releasing world music.
• Bridge Records.Label releasing world music.
• Buda Musique. Label releasing world music.
• Canyon Records. Native American music label.
• CD Baby. One of the best sites to buy CDs from. Pays artists more than other sites, and has a huge selection of independent artists.
• Down Home Music. Down Home Music has been serving the San Francisco bay area for over 22 years with an extensive selection of roots music from the U.S. and around the globe.
• Eternal Music. Record label dedicated to world peace through world music. Artists include Zakir Hussain, Habib Khan, and Emam and Friends.
• Golden Horn Productions. A contemporary and traditional world music and jazz label established in 1995 and based in California.
• Harmonia Mundi. Label releasing world music.
• Luaka Bop. Label releasing world music.
• Mhumhi Records. A non-profit record label dedicated to the preservation of traditional Zimbabwean and Mozambiquan music.
• Musea Records. Carries lots of exciting world music including Ancient Future.
• New Earth Records. CD retailer and label of some of the top names in global fusion/world and much more.
• Oasis Productions. Canadian instrumental music label, specializing in contemporary instrumental, world, and ambient music.
• Oliver Sudden Productions. Record company devoted to World Traditional Music. Titles include music from China, Vietnam, Paraguay, Costa Rica and India.
• Piranha. World Music InfoBaseMegaZineShop!
• Putumayo Records. Label releasing world music samplers, two of which include Ancient Future.
• Real World Records. Label releasing world music.
• Rounder Records. Large independent label with folk and world music releases.
• Silver Wave Records. Label releasing world music.
• Smithonian Folkways Recordings. Label releasing world music.
• World Circuit Records. Label releasing world music.
• X DOT 25 . Wonderful label specializing in world and world fusion music. Great catalog.

Downloads and Streaming

• Amazon Music. Pays artists very slightly more per-stream than Spotify.
• Apple Music. Pays artists significantly more per-stream than Spotify. Apple made all types of music widely available at their iTunes music shop, which has been rebranded as Apple Music.
• Deezer. Deezer pays artists a higher per-stream rate than Spotify.
• eMusic.com. EMusic had a huge legal catalog of world music in the MP3 format, contracts with reputable record labels like Music of the World and Ancient-Future.Com, and a somewhat artist friendly focus. But in the streaming age, TheOrchard.com, the distributor for Ancient-Future.Com Records, dropped them because they weren't paying royalties when due.
• freegal music (freegal music) Freegal is a service where public libraries pay for access, and patrons can stream and download music.
• KKBox (Japan, Southeast Asia). KKBox pays artists slightly more per stream than Spotify.
• Napster.com. Matthew Montfort of Ancient Future was named as the proposed Class Representative in a class action lawsuit for Independent Musicians Against Napster. Their 2002 bankruptcy and subsequent shut down was the result of a series of legal actions taken by the RIAA. Roxio purchased Napster in 2003, and it became legal online music service that let users access music through a subscription or on a fee-per-song basis. Once Napster respected copyright law, Ancient Future tracks were available. Napster was sold to Infinite Reality 2025 and the streaming service was shut down to make way for napster.ai, an AI company for "creating and experiencing music in new ways." Apparently, Napster is returning to its roots as a tech company that doesn't fully respect artist rights. Before merging with Napster, Rhapsody.com posted this review: "Ancient Future's members are relentless innovators, investigating Russian folk, Indonesian gamelan, Indian classical, Celtic Folk, and a whole host of other traditional musics and nature sounds. They often combine several geographically diverse sounds, finding uncanny congruences that make for surprising listening."
• Pandora. Pandora pays artists less per stream than Spotify.
• Qobuz. Great site for hi-res downloads, and pays artists significantly more per-stream than Spotify.
• Soundcloud Go. SoundCloud pays indie artists with dedicated fans through Fan-Powered Royalties, where your fans' subscription money goes directly to the artist.
• Spotify. Spotify pays artists less per stream than other major services, but its massive user base has resulted in higher overall payouts for many artists including Ancient Future. However, their new royalty structure gives the money from streams of smaller artists to major labels and mega famous artists. It's important to post playlists on Spotify, but pick a more artist friendly service for listening.
• Tidal. Tidal pays a higher per-stream rate than Apple, which pays significantly more per-stream than Spotify.
• YouTube Music. YouTube pays artists slightly more per stream than Spotify, but their ad supported service pays significantly less and accounts for most of the streams.
  

Ringtones

• WorldMusicRingtones.Com. These world music ringtones were created by Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort from the original master recordings. Songs were remixed specifically for the ringtone format to highlight certain master musicians from around the world, global grooves, or natural elements. These 100% organic loop-free earth tones for phones are a great way to make your cell phone fit better into the natural cycles of your life.