Sound recordings from radio archives: the restoration of music in digits

Abstract

Introduction. Since the focus is currently on the problems of translating (rewriting) music recordings to new media and digitization, the article examines the problems of restoration of music phonograms stored in the archives of radio companies. It is emphasized that sound recordings of radio programs are an integral part of the national archival fund and the library and information fund of documents at the same time. Attention was focused on the coverage of information-archival and technological aspects related to the peculiarities of the restoration of retrospective (repository) music content in the context of digital transformation of society. A holistic historical and informational analysis was conducted in the scientific context of the synergy of two systems – sound recording and radio broadcasting. Methodological support of the study was based on the use of general scientific and special methods. Taking into account the experience of «BBC Radio 1» to create a unique collection of recordings and areas of use of music collections as objects of archival storage, revealed features of recording music sessions in recording studios of radio stations – recording instrumental accompaniment, recording vocals from the microphone (with cyclic dubbing), phonogram processing and compilation, the final stage of phonogram processing, mastering as a closed link in the chain of control and evaluation of the quality of recorded music. The principles of restoration works with music recordings on a magnetic tape stored in radio collections are clarified. Conservation and prevention measures with sound documents on disk media are determined separately. Formulation of the purpose of the article. The subject of the publication is the features of technological methods of restoration, restoration and digitization of stock music phonograms of radio companies. Hence, the purpose of the publication is to solve the scientific problem of analyzing the existing knowledge and practical skills in digitizing analog sound recordings, as well as to finalize scientific provisions for the preservation of digital collections of music collections of radio companies. The main methods of restoration, restoration and digitization of stock music phonograms of radio broadcasting subjects are revealed. Find out which software products perform digitization tasks. It is noted that digital media and drives are prone to aging and have a limited shelf life. The conclusions emphasize the transformation of the specifics of the organization of storage of music recordings. The author concludes that the basis for the protection and storage of music collections of radio archives is the organization of a system of backup and duplication of data. Since radio broadcasting is a unique segment of audio culture (where the musical component occupies one of the leading positions), there are features of the formation of stock music recordings on the radio with the specifics of storage. The basis of protection against failures of storage devices is the organization of a system of backup and duplication of data. Music radio funds are intensively replenished with a digital component and can be divided into «studio» and «live». A number of specialized software products have been developed for digitization of analog audio data, with the help of which digitization tasks can be performed. In recent years, the supply of such programs has grown significantly. Digital technologies have led to a change in the culture of music consumption (there has been a change in the ideology of authorship for music products) and the emergence of digital recording technologies using artificial intelligence, digital workstations, etc. In this regard, the specifics of the organization of storage of music archival sound recordings were transformed, in particular in the sound stores of radio companies, which acquired specific properties of the service grade (reprint of archival music that was specially recorded for radio, etc.). Results of the research. A large number of radio stations have archives, which store not only the «master tapes» of successful recordings of past years, but also musical materials that have never been published. Reprinting such records and searching for unpublished materials is an interesting research area for many collectors. Some of the archival music of most of the world’s powerful radio stations is already available online and available for download in digital form. BBC Radio 1 now has far fewer centralized pre-recording sessions than it did in the 1960s and 1970s. On the weekends, the emphasis on dance pop music became apparent. In recent years, the corporation’s management has realized the value of its phonogram archive, in the collection of which you can find recordings of radio broadcasts since 1898, and selectively authorized the commercial production of music radio sessions.