Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music was created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the 'modern man's' equivalent of the Grove Dictionary of Music which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.

Larkin believed that rock music and popular music, were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given 'definitive' treatment and properly documented. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is the result. In 1989 Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an Encyclopedia of Popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a 'pre-internet' age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise and a hideous amount of legwork". The new company he financed and founded to publish the encyclopedia, was called Square One Books. The first edition of the encyclopedia "pushed Larkin to the brink of bankruptcy". It was a 'four volume set' and went into print in 1992.

There have been three further editions of the multi-volume encyclopedia and dozens of single-volume spin-offs of five concise versions of the main encyclopedia, including four editions of Jazz.

In 1995 Microsoft licensed the text for their CD-ROM, Microsoft Music Central, which sold 497,000 copies.

In 1997 Larkin's company, along with the Encyclopedia, was sold to the data company Muze Inc. (the UK name was changed to Muze UK), because Larkin wanted "to guarantee its future" in the fast changing world of information and communications technology. He became full-time editor-in-chief' on the project, running a surprisingly small scale "cottage industry":

"There are now fewer than 10 contributors on the team... "People don't believe it's done on such a small scale, but in terms of words we are producing an Agatha Christie novel a month"..."

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