As we enter the fifth year in the existence of the Journal of World Popular Music, we are delighted to open our editorial introduction with a number of announcements. In 2013, we were conceiving of a journal with a specific focus on global pop to capture a new and distinctive niche in the market and address newer ethnomusicological research areas. The Journal of World Popular Music is in very good health and has developed rapidly into a sought-after site for scholarly discussion. During the four years of its existence, the journal became indexed in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, The Music Index, Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)/Thomson Reuters, SCOPUS and ERIH PLUS, which is testament to the high-quality research and scholarship published in the journal, along with a thorough editorial procedure to ensure its rigour. In total, we have published eight well-received journal issues, with a growing number of new submissions each year and a healthy line-up of articles and special issues. Our subscription and readership base is strong too. Our journal is subscribed to by 30 institutions directly, while more than 3000 libraries worldwide have access to the Journal through Equinox’s license with EBSCO for its aggregated database of full-text music titles.