I probably work with more recent material than many people here but, in my
experience, it is the record collectors who are pushing record labels to
revisit their more obscure recordings. In my recent experience of
transferring major label recordings, the labelling shows that well known
material has already been digitally transferred at high resolution and
hopefully a reasonable proportion of the material lost would have been
transferred before the fire. The problem lies with multitrack recordings,
alternate takes and alternate mixes that were kept but never intended to be
released. The tapes of alternate mixes that I've been transferring recently
show no signs of having been touched since they were put into storage 30
years ago so I would guess that many similar recordings were lost in this
fire.

There is now sufficient interest in these to make their release worthwhile
if they still exist and there are independent labels who are licensing the
material from the majors to make this happen. No-one is making a fortune
from this as sales are unlikely to top the charts but there's a steady flow
of work and all the additional copies of these recordings help to ensure
that the work will live for longer.

James.

On Wed, 12 Jun 2019 at 00:13, Alex McGehee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> To those who have not done so yet, Jody Rosen’s article in today’s NYT
> Magazine is a long but most worthwhile read. I realize there are a wide
> variety of views within our organization on political, business, economic
> systems, etc. It would be unfortunate to get lost within those now heavily
> traveled byways.
>
> Suffice it to say, NBCUniversal’s neglect and subsequent loss was to all
> of us, incalculable. The systematic aggregation of a vast legacy of
> recorded sound by three incredibly large and powerful private
> corporations—whose priorities are clearly not in the area of recorded sound
> preservation—the substantial, intentional disinformation campaign that
> continues to the present day by these same entities; all work toward both a
> witting and unwitting destruction of so many creations of truly great art
> that properly belong to all of humanity—past, present and future.
>
> That a way out of this mire is nowhere near at hand must certainly now be
> a clear understanding of our collaborative organization (ARSC), and despite
> our relatively small numbers, we should be bold, clear and assertive in
> communicating dynamic solutions to this recorded legacy crisis. Rather than
> losing ourselves in regrets over the past (i.e. Camden, New Jersey; this
> 2008 NBCUniversal fire) or all the other sidelines we can, and do get
> distracted by, why does ARSC even exist it (we) cannot effectively rise to
> this challenge?
>
> Please excuse me for asking what some may see as an unwelcome question,
> but where is the leadership of ARSC in even beginning to meet this
> challenge?
>
> Sincerely,
> Alex McGehee
>
> > On Jun 11, 2019, at 3:51 PM, Eli Bildirici <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > I was about to ask what the policy ramifications of a disaster of this
> kind should be. It seems to me that the megalocorps are poor stewards.
> >
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > From: Clark Johnsen <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 02:44 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] The Day the Music Burned
> >
> >> An excellent article, better than one might have expected upon learning
> of
> >> the title. One caveat however — the writer, like most people, blithely
> >> assumes that “digitization” is a be-all and end-all. In fact there are
> in
> >> the numeric process as many forms and levels and sonic qualities as with
> >> analog. Plus the possibility of a “digital fire” must not be dismissed.
> >>
> >> I should now draw your attention to a paper I presented to the 1986 ARSC
> >> conference in San Francisco, outlining all such considerations about the
> >> masters being dispersed around the globe (who knows where?) either in
> >> private hands or held in central facilities with little or no
> regulation or
> >> oversight. At the same time I advanced a proposal to create a taxonomy
> of
> >> extant masters but failed to vigorously pursue the matter. I did however
> >> submit the summary proposal to several important foundations and
> >> individuals, but received no response. So there, mea culpa, I let it
> rest.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Jones, Randye <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Amazing article about lose of musical heritage
> >>>
> >>> The Day the Music Burned
> >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/magazine/universal-fire-
> >>> master-recordings.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
> >>>
>


-- 
**********************************************************************
*       James Perrett
*       JRP Music Services, Alresford, Hampshire, U.K.
*       Audio Mastering, Restoration, Recording and Consultancy
*       Phone +44 (0) 777 600 6107
* e-mail [log in to unmask]
* http://www.jrpmusic.net
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