One off discs would not work - they need to be manufacured in quantity to be durable. Vinyl cannot be “cut” it needs to be molded. “Properly produced” in quantity.

While we are in fantasy land, I’d suggest wax cylinders. :-) actually manufactured plastic, not wax, but hey it is fantasy!

:-)

But you know, I have some faith that audio professionals will be able to keep migrating digital audio into the latest formats, which if so means digital is the only permanent medium. Records degrade with improper playback, can break, melt, be made into bowls and ashtrays, ritually burned or driven over by tractors, so what is permanent is what humans decide to make so! :-)

Contrarian,
<L>
Lou Judson
Intuitive Audio
415-883-2689

On Feb 3, 2016, at 9:55 AM, Chris Bishop <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Properly-produced vinyl is a very stable medium and a cheap material too. I
> don't know how long a record could remain an accurate document sitting on a
> library shelf - a few hundred years, a thousand? Maybe archives should
> purchase some lathes and start training people to master and cut vinyl. It
> may be a better option than digital for long-term preservation - or at
> least the best physical backup available.
>
> Artists who record digitally and upload to bandcamp or soundcloud will more
> likely than not have their music be inaccessible in a hundred years, while
> those who produce vinyl albums or singles, whatever the aural shortcomings,
> will see theirs survive.