An umbrella category for musical styles associated with regions or ethnic groups of the world. The first world music record label was Smithsonian/Folkways, which in the 1930s began a series of influential releases of folk music from around the world. A major milestone in world music recordings came later with the Nonesuch Explorer series of records, introducing a variety of previously obscure musics to a diverse international audience. From these roots have sprung today's world music labels.