Any digitization is based on guidelines or a code of ethics in most archives. The engineer should try to preserve the analogue signal as close as possible to what he or she believes is the original recording, for instance when digitizing shellac discs. Working in the digital landscape is slightly different. Basically, the task is to preserve every bit and byte from the source, which usually means the distribution format (e.g. CD or audio file). In order to preserve authenticity it may be quite challenging to work on analogue material, but even born digital material may not reflect the original recording or final mix. Actually, any distribution format has been modified one way or another. Furthermore, the record industry’s increasing number of re-master editions doesn’t necessarily mean that we are getting any closer to the original recording. And, some of these releases don’t even sound any better compared to the first editions.
The only way to preserve the original recordings and studio mixes is quite obvious: We must acquire the digital material itself. But how can we do it? Which tools are needed? How can we choose the best strategy? Should we consider it as a common concern across countries as well?
In Norway the National Library has worked with the record companies and other right holders for several years to establish a national master tape collection. Even though magnetic tapes and other carriers (analogue or digital) still should be our concern, new distribution formats (through streaming or download) drive us to acquire and preserve born digital material, too. This is also a background for the new Legal Deposit Act that will come into force this year (replacing the previous law from 1989). The new legislation will make it easier to acquire high resolution audio files for mastering, but we still believe in dialogue rather than law enforcement to acquire digital music productions. Also, this is not only about the audio content. Music videos, album cover art, e-booklets, and various promotion materials should be preserved as well. The most difficult part of establishing automatic solutions may prove to be the metadata management. Fortunately, the music industry pays more attention to this issue than before in their effort to standardize their digital supply chain.
The paper will explore some of the tools and solutions we use in Norway, but also suggest common solutions that may be useful for everyone who works on digital material. Whether we speak of analogue or digital recordings we should keep asking ourselves: How did it originally sound (in the recording studio)?