Margaret MacArthur died Wednesday evening at her home in Vermont. Margaret was a performer and collector of traditional songs particularly those of Vermont and New England. She was a friend and inspiration to many traditional musicians.

Donations in may be sent to the Vermont Folk Life Center, Margaret MacArthur Collection, P.O. Box 442, Middlebury, VT 05753, to help preserve and perpetuate her work with Vermont folk songs.

Brattleboro Reformer article on Margaret MacArthur.

This seems to be the month of digital distribution deals. Smithsonian Folkways has a new agreement with The Orchard for digital distribution and marketing of the Folkways collection.

Compass Records has purchased physical distribution rights to the Green Linnet catalog from Digital Music Group Inc. which purchased the Celtic music label last week.

Ed Halpern one of the founders of the Philadelphia Folk Festival and long time board member of the Philadelphia Folksong Society died last Thursday.

Folk Alliance Region – West (FAR-West) will host a gathering of the Northwest acoustic music community in Portland on July 22nd 2006. The event will kick off with a summit meeting at 1:00 p.m. at Mississippi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi Ave., includes dinner, and will conclude with a juried showcase of independent Northwest acoustic musicians.

Green Linnet Records and its affiliated world music label, Xenophile have been acquired by Digital Music Group Inc. The Green Linnet catalog includes over 2,400 tracks from leading Celtic artists such as Niamh Parsons, Old Blind Dogs, Lunasa, Patrick Street, and Tannahill Weavers.

Creative Commons and Vogle & Associates have published a legal guide for Podcasters. Inspired by the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Legal Guide for Bloggers, the Podcasting Legal Guide is designed to outline both legal and practical issues that are specifically relevant for podcasters, such as using music and video in a podcast.

A new documentary film about John Langstaff will premiere Wednesday, May 17th at the Capitol Theater in Arlington, MA. The film by David Nath is the result of extensive cooperation with Langstaff’s family, friends, associates, students, and even Langstaff himself.

Born May 3rd 1919, Pete Seeger is 87 today!

“..Well, I have worked at many things, and my main profession is a student of American folklore, and I make my living as a banjo picker-sort of damning, in some people’s opinion.” — Pete Seeger in response to a question from the House Unamerican Activities Committee, August 18, 1955