Folkways Records was originally the label of Folkways Records & Service Corp., which was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch with Marian Distler in New York City to document music, spoken word, and sounds from around the world. With more than 2,000 titles, Folkways grew to be one of the largest and most influential independent record companies in the world.

In 1987, following the death of Moses Asch, the Smithsonian Institute acquired the label and all of its files and assets. As one of the terms of that deal, the Smithsonian agreed to keep all titles in print, which they continue to do to this day under Smithsonian Folkways.

Folkways releases were often kept in print for decades and the copyright date(s) on a release rarely match up to the release date. The release date can usually be narrowed down to a range of years by looking at the mailing address on the labels and/or back cover (which sometimes don't match as new vinyl would be placed in leftover covers, or new covers printed for leftover vinyl.) For information on the numerous pre-Smithsonian addresses that appear on Folkways Records labels, covers and booklets issued between 1948 and 1987 and the periods in which each address was relevant, see the Folkways Records & Service Corp. page.

Labelcode: LC 9628