ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan now has music from its new Block M Records label available on the iTunes Music Store.

Block M Records, the innovative record label established by U-M in December 2005, promotes the vitality, diversity and artistic excellence of the University through the recording, production and dissemination of musical compositions and performances by School of Music faculty, staff and students.is perceived in higher education.

“We are delighted to be taking the lead in this exciting venture at the convergence of technology and art,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman.” This alliance offers manifold benefits to our students, faculty, and staff by protecting and encouraging the creative process while making all kinds of music more broadly accessible to audiences everywhere.”

The first tracks that Block M Records will make available through the iTunes Music Store embrace an eclectic mix indicative of the breadth of music-making on the Ann Arbor campus. These tracks range from professor Louis Nagel’s recordings of piano works by Franz Joseph Haydn and Carl Phillipp Emmanuel Bach recorded at U-M’s historically acclaimed Hill Auditorium to original free jazz improvisations by the faculty trio E3Q comprised of professors Katri Ervamaa (?cello), Michael Gould (percussion), and Mark Kirshenmann (trumpet) recorded in the University’s state-of-the-art recording studio.

Also featured in the label’s first iTunes release are spiritual works sung by professor Daniel Washington and professor Anthony Elliott performing the complete ?cello Sonatas and Variations of Beethoven.

According to Mary Simoni, associate dean at U-M’s School of Music and project director,” Block M Records allows the university to retain greater control over its intellectual property. Faculty inventors” in this case, performers, composers, and audio engineers” receive a percentage return on their invention (e.g. a recording). Through Block M Records, faculty generally retain copyright to their work and license the content to Block M Records who in turn licenses the content to Apple for distribution through the iTunes Music Store.”

“I’m delighted that Block M Records now has music on the iTunes Music Store,” said Christopher Kendall, dean of U-M’s School of Music.” This model of distribution has powerful implications for the School of Music. Our many outstanding recordings, which will now be widely available, reflect the outstanding quality of our faculty, students and programs.

Block M Records is managed by the U-M School of Music. Block M Records is a subsidiary of the Internet Publication Project?a campus-wide collaborative research program that explores the convergence of multiple technologies to support the electronic publication of scholarly and creative research.

The Internet Publication Project is supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Provost, the Division or Research Development and Administration, the Office of Tech Transfer, the James and Anne Duderstadt Center, and the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University Library.

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