AllMusic

AllMusic was launched as All-Music Guide by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician." He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LPs and cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash." In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded All Music Guide with a goal to create an open-access database that included every recording "since Enrico Caruso gave the industry its first big boost". Its first online version, in 1994, was a text-based Gopher site. It moved to the World Wide Web as web browsers became more user-friendly. In 1996, seeking to further develop its web-based businesses, Alliance Entertainment Corp. bought All Music from Erlewine for a reported $3.5 million. He left the company after its sale. In late 2007, AllMusic was purchased for $72 million by TiVo Corporation (known as Macrovision at the time of the sale and as Rovi from 2009 until 2016). In 2012, AllMusic removed all of Bryan Adams' info from the site per a request from the artist. In 2015, AllMusic was purchased by BlinkX, later known as RhythmOne. ==The All Music Guide series==

The All Media Network produced the All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide (at first released as ''The Experts' Guide), which includes a series of publications about various music genres. It was followed by the Required Listening'' series and annual guides. Vladimir Bogdanov is the president and the main editor of the series. • All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (1st edition: 1992, 2nd ed.: 1994, 3rd ed.: 1997, 4th ed.: 2001, 5th ed.: 2008) • All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music (2004) • All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music (1st ed.: 1997, 2nd ed.: 2003) • All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music (2001) • All Music Guide to Hip-hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-hop (2003) • All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music  (1st ed.: 1994, 2nd ed.: 1996, 3rd ed.: 1998, 4th ed.: 2002) • All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (1st ed.: 1995, 2nd ed.: 1997, 3rd ed.: 2002) • All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (2003) • All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (1st ed: 1996, 2nd ed: 1999, 3rd ed: 2003) • All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock (2007) • All Music Guide Required Listening: Contemporary Country (2008) • All Music Guide Required Listening: Old School Rap & Hip-hop (2008) • All Music Guide to the Music of 2002: Your Guide to the Recordings of the Year (2003) • All Music Guide to the Music of 2003: Your Guide to the Recordings of the Year (2004) == Reception ==

In August 2007, PC Magazine included AllMusic in its "Top 100 Classic Websites" list. ==See also==