<
https://www.wired.com/story/archive-of-contemporary-music-save-3-million-records-digital-streaming/>
"Kindle libraries; troves of infinitely streamable songs on Spotify and Apple
Music; scores of shows and films on Netflix, Max, and Hulu. Even the Criterion
Collection is online now. Cultural archives now live on server farms, so much
so that the value of physical media seems ever-shifting. While there’s some
benefit to it—the ineffable experience of flipping through a book, owning DVDs
of your favorite show to watch when it disappears from streaming—the logistical
issues involved in preserving massive archives of these things feels
astronomical. Especially now, when many shows, comics, and albums aren’t even
released as Blu-rays, bound editions, or LPs.
While physical media faces an increasingly uncertain and unsympathetic future,
its defenders do all they can to protect what they see as an invaluable
resource. Nowhere is that more evident than at the ARChive of Contemporary
Music (ARC), a New York-based nonprofit that keeps and maintains the largest
popular music collection in the world.
Encompassing more than 3 million recordings, including the personal holdings of
collectors like Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, businessman Zero
Freitas, late director Jonathan Demme, and A-Square Record label founder Jeep
Holland, the ARC holds an impressive array of everything from signed LPs to
blues 78s to Brazilian and Haitian music. It’s also taken in recordings, books,
and papers from music icons like David Byrne and journalist Jon Pareles, and
reportedly holds some of the world’s biggest collections of Broadway, African,
punk, jazz, country and western, folk, hip hop, and experimental recordings.
It’s become an important resource for researchers doing work in music history,
graphic design, or cultural heritage—and it’s in jeopardy."
Via Danie and Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
