The archive that dates back the furthest in the UK is the EMI library with
material dating back to Berliner. They thankfully have a purpose built
archive that holds paperwork, photos, tapes, artefacts etc. The building,
near the old EMI offices and pressing plant in Hayes, Middlesex was built,
so they told me, with a state of the art gas 'sprinkler' system. It is a
basically inert gas that stops fire in its tracks by starving it of oxygen.
Not good if your stuck in the building  with it though! From what I
remember each section is separate and discs are in a different room to
tapes which are in a different room to photos, all of which can be isolated
from each other in an emergency.

I do hope it keeps everything in good working order.  The Building is now
owned by Universal but jointly run by them, Warner (both of whom own parts
of the old EMI material) and the charity, the EMI archive trust (who look
after the pre tape material and artifacts). Makes you glad that Universal
didn't build it!

As far as i'm aware the majority of Universal archives (from before they
took over Hayes) are kept in tunnels under London - who knows how safe they
are.

Good as the Hayes archives are, they were only built because leases where
tapes were previously stored were coming to an end!


On Wed, 26 Jun 2019, 17:40 Shai Drori, <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I was reading this list and then realized that in all my years as a
> recording engineer, I have always pleaded with the artists to pay the extra
> studio time to run a duplicate master just for this reason that should the
> label lose their masters, they will have their own master. With automation
> in place, it's really easy to just run the tape twice (the studio I worked
> at that time only had one 1/4" master recorder and two DAT machines). Some
> agreed, some didn't. For my label, I have duplicate masters stored in two
> separate continents. Just cause I can.
>
> Reading that list gave me shivers. It's really the whole music history of
> our time. I hope Sony takes better care of their archives.
>
> Cheers
> Shai Drori
> Expert digitization services for Audio Video
> 3K scanning for film 8mm-35mm
> Timeless Recordings Music Label
> www.audiovideofilm.com
> [log in to unmask]
> Tripadvisor level 6 contributor, level 15 restaurant expert
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 7:31 PM Railroads On Parade <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > As a museum worker involved with collections at The National Academy of
> > Design and The Guggenheim Museum I can profess the attitude was one I'd
> > hear "it is not a perfect world" when in fact the job is to create a
> > perfect world.
> > Guy Walker
> >
> > On Wed, 26 Jun 2019 at 11:29, Dennis Rooney <[log in to unmask]>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Attention to detail is paramount in archival storage. Unfortunately,
> > > trained staff and best practices cost money. Until the culture is ready
> > to
> > > de-monetize such audio assets and master recordings, and video assets
> > like
> > > camera negatives and lavender prints in addition to the associated
> > > elements, there can be no guarantee that anything owned by a for-profit
> > > entity is adequately protected.
> > >
> > > DDR
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 11:01 AM Railroads On Parade <
> > > [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Notre Dame burned under similar circumstances.  Would history have
> been
> > > > changed if UMG not been negligent?   There is a systemic relation to
> > many
> > > > facets these days of what we care about, then how we care and then
> > often
> > > > choose it is not worth the care finding a convenient way to move on.
> > > >
> > > > On Wed, 26 Jun 2019 at 10:42, Dennis Rooney <[log in to unmask]
> >
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > As I read the posts on this catastrophe, I note the absence of the
> > > names
> > > > of
> > > > > Decca's classical artists — admittedly, not many — whose masters
> were
> > > > > surely destroyed. Jascha Heifetz, Andrés Segovia, Rudolf Ganz,
> Percy
> > > > > Grainger, Robert Goldsand et al. all recorded for Decca in the
> > forties,
> > > > > which were mastered on 16.5-in. lacquers cut vertically. Like
> > Columbia,
> > > > > approved takes from the lacquers were dubbed to produce the
> released
> > > > 78rpm
> > > > > shellac discs. Heifetz's preserved some extraordinary performances
> of
> > > > > encore pieces in which virtuosity was explored to the utmost. Due
> to
> > > the
> > > > > dates, those lacquers were all glass-based, and were either broken
> in
> > > > > transit or burned up in the vault fire. A similar fate befell the
> > > others.
> > > > > It is perhaps a small part of what was destroyed, to be sure, but
> as
> > > > > grievous a loss our cultural patrimony as anything else.
> > > > >
> > > > > DDR
> > > > >
> > > > > On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 1:44 AM Jeff Willens <[log in to unmask]>
> > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/magazine/universal-music-fire-bands-list-umg.html
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > 1006 Langer Way
> > > > > Delray Beach, FL 33483
> > > > > 561.265.2976
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > 1006 Langer Way
> > > Delray Beach, FL 33483
> > > 561.265.2976
> > >
> >
>