Richard Hellmuth Baum (8 April 1902 – 6 September 2000) was a German musicologist and music historian.
Immediately after his doctorate, Baum took up the post as the first editor at the Augsburg Bärenreiter-Verlag, which moved to Kassel in 1927.
Baum was editor-in-chief of the magazines Musik und Kirche [de] (1929-1941) and Hausmusik (since 1933, later Practica).
Baum, whose commitment was directed towards several committees of musical youth and adult education, also served as treasurer of the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung from 1947 to 1977 and as first chairman of the Landgraf Moritz Foundation from 1955 to 1975.
In recognition of his special services to music research, he was awarded the Plaque of Honour of the City of Kassel in 1962 and the Goethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen in 1976.