DEUMM Online is a digitally enhanced music encyclopedia published by RILM, building on Alberto Basso’s Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti from the 1980s and 1990s. Developed as a collaborative effort among Italian and international scholars, it aims to create an Italian-language knowledge base with a distinctly global perspective on music and its circulation worldwide.
Expanding and updating the original print edition, DEUMM Online adds approximately 150 new entries each year. These contributions emphasize areas previously marginalized or overlooked–such as pop, film, jazz, folk, world, and ancient music–alongside emerging concepts and theoretical approaches in music studies, including feminism, gender and race studies, sound studies, and postcolonial perspectives. All entries are authored and reviewed by subject specialists, ensuring the reliability and scholarly quality of the content. Under the leadership of general editors Daniela Castaldo and Antonio Baldassarre, an international network of experts continually revises existing entries and produces new ones, keeping the encyclopedia aligned with ongoing developments in both Italian and global music scholarship.
New articles in DEUMM Online are designed to be comprehensive, offering a complete overview of each topic. They are divided into titled sections that help users navigate complex subjects with significant historical, cultural, or social dimensions. Different sections may be authored by different specialists, ensuring that each aspect is treated by an expert in that area. The content is enhanced with multimedia elements and can be explored through multiple access points, including section titles, article types (including biographies, instruments, genres, and works), occupations and nationalities of the individuals discussed, and sortable timelines. Users can also arrange works and biographies either chronologically or alphabetically, allowing them to tailor how they view and study the material.
Although DEUMM Online is published in Italian, it remains a valuable resource for the international music research community, offering insights into both Italian and global musical traditions. Modern technologies now make it possible to translate Italian into other languages almost instantly, greatly enhancing its accessibility. This allows scholars and enthusiasts to engage more deeply with its content while navigating the complexities of today’s interconnected music landscape. As a result, DEUMM Online stands out for its dynamic and flexible nature, continually adapting to the evolving needs and expectations of its users.
