Sound/Radio
After photography, the sound recording is the oldest audiovisual medium.
An audio tape damaged by improper storage. Photo: Rudolf Müller, Memoriav
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In addition to the music industry’s mass production of recordings, there are currently a large amount of individual recordings stored on a variety of different formats. These were collected in private and public archives and libraries for research purposes; the archive of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR is an especially large collection. All these collections are currently faced with the problem that their storage media are decaying and – what is almost worse – playback equipment and techniques have long since disappeared. Both problems, decay and obsolescence, affect both old, analogue media and modern digital storage devices. Dehydration, chemical decay processes and ever-accelerating innovation cycles all threaten our acoustic heritage.
Memoriav activities in Sound and Radio
Memoriav initiates and supports projects for the preservation and increased availability of cultural, political and music ethnological sound recordings. On the one hand, the recordings must be saved from decay or before the playback devices disappear, and on the other hand the recordings must be made available to the public.
In the projects it supports, Memoriav also ensures these recorded witnesses are catalogued using a high-quality system, which is the only way to make sure they can be found and are accessible.
An important task is the constant monitoring of technical developments, as these witnesses of the past must remain in good and authentic quality for our descendents.
And finally, the decision must often be made to narrow down a selection of recordings, because they cannot all be saved. In this matter Memoriav makes sure the collaboration with partner institutions is organised according to the best knowledge and conscience.
Through extension course offerings and publications, Memoriav sensitises interested parties and professional circles to the preservation of sound recordings.
In the competence network restoration and archiving experts tackle the contextual and technical aspects of the long-term preservation of sound recordings.
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