Music streaming resources (audio & video)

Welcome! Use this page to find streaming sources for audio recordings and to locate online discographies.

The Sofia Discovery tool is a great place to begin your search. The search tool provides access to a wide range of sources in both print and electronic formats, including books, articles, music scores, recordings, videos, and archival materials.

Video tutorial

Audio@McGill

• Schulich School of Music Performance Archive

  • Growing archive of the Schulich School of Music performances from 2008 – present
  • Includes audio and/or video components for selected performances (Note: Streaming access requires authentication and is restricted to current McGill users)
  • See also the Schulich School of Music YouTube channel for selected video recording performances.

• Schulich School of Music - MEMSA (McGill Electronic Music Studio Archive) Recordings

  • The MEMSA recordings database is in the process of being migrated to a new platform. If you have questions about this collection, please contact staff at music.library@mcgill.ca. 

Online Audio

• Naxos Music Library (NML3)

  • Streaming audio library (classical music)
  • Access to more than 2 million tracks of standard and rare repertoire from a wide range of labels
  • Liner notes for selected recordings
  • Includes additional resources such as opera synopses and libretti, glossaries of musical terms, aural training exercises, and work details and analyses
  • Naxos Music Library App: Available for Apple or Android mobile devices. You must create a personal account prior to using the app using the Student / Faculty of a subscribing university or educational institution instructions. 

    Creating Naxos Music Library playlists: Video tutorial. Instructors can use the McGill Playlist creation guide for creating course-specific Naxos playlists. Please contact the Music Library staff for login credentials. Further information can be found on the Naxos website.

    Troubleshooting: Note that clearing your browser cache often resolves issues related to playing selections on Naxos

• Naxos Music Library Jazz (NML3 - Jazz)

  • Streaming audio library (jazz music)
  • Access to more than 240,000 recordings of jazz music
  • Includes notes on the works and biographical information on composers and artists
  • Note: This database has a limited number of simultaneous users. If you have trouble accessing or receive an error message, please try again later.

  • Naxos Music Library Jazz App: Available for Apple or Android mobile devices. You must create a personal account prior to using the app.

    Creating Naxos Music Library Jazz playlists: Video tutorial. Instructors can use the McGill Playlist creation guide for creating course-specific Naxos playlists. Please contact the Music Library staff for login credentials. Further information can be found on the Naxos website.

    Troubleshooting: Note that clearing your browser cache often resolves issues related to playing selections on Naxos.

• Naxos Music Library World

  • Streaming audio library (world music)
  • Access to over 185,000 recordings from world cultures
  • Includes the Smithsonian Folkways catalogue
  • Note: This database has a limited number of simultaneous users. If you have trouble accessing or receive an error message, please try again later.
  • Naxos Music Library World App: Available for Apple or Android mobile devices. You must create a personal account prior to using the app.

    Creating Naxos Music Library World Playlists: Video tutorial. Instructors can use the McGill Playlist creation guide for creating course-specific Naxos playlists. Please contact the Music Library staff for login credentials. Further information can be found on the Naxos website. 

    Troubleshooting: Note that clearing your browser cache often resolves issues related to playing selections on Naxos.

• Music Online: Classical Music Library (Alexander Street Press)

  • Stream classical music sound recordings
  • Coverage includes music written from the medieval period to the present day. Repertoire ranges from vocal and choral music, to chamber, orchestral, solo instrumental, and opera
  • Video tutorial: Creating personal playlists (applies to audio and video recordings available through Music Online)

• electrothèque 

  • Stream electroacoustic works from the empreintes DIGITALes catalogue and its composers
  • Register for a personal account to manage playlists and create your own collections
  • Note: This database has a limited number of simultaneous users. If you have trouble accessing or receive an error message, please try again later.

• DRAM: Database of Recorded American Music

  • Stream sound recordings from independent labels and sound archives (e.g. New World Records, Composers Recordings (CRI), Albany Records)
  • Primarily American music
  • Encompasses avant-garde, contemporary, electronic, folk, opera, indigenous, jazz, musical theatre, and more
  • Access original liner notes and essays

• The Virtual Gramophone

  • Database containing information and images for more than 15,000 78-rpm and cylinder recordings released in Canada, as well as foreign recordings featuring Canadian artists and/or compositions.
  • Selected recordings in the Library and Archives Canada collection of 78s, chosen for their Canadian content, were digitally reproduced for this site.

• OverDrive

  • Provides access to eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video

• Mainspring Press Free Online Reference Library

  • Downloadable discographies and other resources for collectors of historic sound recordings
  • Includes discographies by John Bolig, Dick Spottswood, Allan Sutton, William R. Bryant, George Blacker, Brian Rust, The Record Research Associates, & others
  • The discographies are for personal, non-commercial use only
  • Includes the complete 6th edition of Brian Rust’s Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897 – 1942)

• The Jazz Discography Online (TJD Online)

  • Source of information about jazz records and jazz recording sessions
  • Encompasses all genres of jazz and contains information about 400,000+ recordings released between 1896 and today
  • Sessions are listed by bandleader name and presented in chronological order: details include tune titles as well as the names of all supporting musicians and the instrument(s) they played
  • The date, matrix and record company release numbers of each recording are also included

• International Bibliography of Discographies

  • Lists out current and out-of-print discographies, record company catalogs and periodicals which contains discographies, with a focus on commercial published recordings
  • Discographies that have been digitized can be found in the Digital Discography Collection at the Internet Archive

• AllMusic

  • A recordings and buyer's guide, less scholarly
  • Helps one build a recording collection and guide to a particular genre
  • Reviews, ratings and lists of recommendations can be useful to reception history research
  • Featured articles and interviews provide valuable information about bands, musicians, genres, etc.

• Discogs

  • A crowd-sourcing database of information about sound recordings
  • Offers user-generated discographies and collecting guides, listing of multiple issues/reissues and formats of a particular recording, as well as tracks and personnel
  • Includes images with permalinks for the front and back covers, disc labels, and accompanying booklets for most individual listings
  • The Recent Sales History section provides price trends, helps identify rarity and demand for specific releases, and offers insights to support research and library collection/deselection decisions

• McGill users only
• Open access resource
• Free resource
• In-library use
• Catalogue record