It looks like the Smithsonian has an impressive new project that aims to broaden the accessibility of various [endangered] regional musics from around the planet to people with a big interweb connection.

So like the iTunes Music Store and the myriad other online music distributors, you can sample tracks for free and then slap down $0.99 to download a proper hi-rez version. The monies collected are supposed to help pay royalties and generally support regional archives.

To test the scope/breadth of this project, I decided to flex my ethnomusicological muscles and entered in Ibibio. Astonishingly, I got back two results, with a link to samples, one of which was:

Music of the Jos Plateau and Other Regions of Nigeria
Performed By: Various Artists
Country(s) of Origin: Nigeria
Year of Release: 1965
Record Label / Archive: Folkways Records
Catalog Number: FW04321

Needless to say that I was floored ... very nice work!!