Preservation = Access Music Archives at IRCAM as an Online Library Collection

1. Preservation = AccessMusic Archives at IRCAMas an Online Library Collection Michael Fingerhut Director, Multimedia LibraryIRCAM – Centre PompidouParis (France) (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

2. Roadmap • IRCAM • Integrating collections • Access • Preservation • Issues • By-products (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

3. IRCAM – Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique • A multidisciplinary not-for-profit organization • Music and dance composition and production  audio (video) archives • R&D in acoustics, digital signal processing, real-time systems, perception and cognition, music representation  published texts • Degree-granting programs in computer music and musicology • Outreach (conferences, concerts)  published texts, audio archives • A brief history • 1970: President Pompidou asks Pierre Boulez to found an institute • 1976: Giuseppe di Giugno and his team produce the 4A • 1978: First concert in the Espro (modular concert hall) • 1981: 4X. Répons by Boulez • 1983: Ircam connects to int’l networks (uucp) • 1988: The graphical programming language Max (Miller Puckette) • 1992: Laurent Bayle director (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

4. The IRCAM documents until 1995 • Publications • Articles in peer-reviewed external periodicals • IRCAM books and periodicals • Manuals (software, hardware, performance…) • Other (design documents, letters…) • Sound archives • Concerts and conferences since 1977 • On analog and digital tapes • Could record but not listen to • Reference library • Books, scores, periodicals, LPs, CDs • Proprietary, stand-alone catalog Inexistent as a collection Existent but inaccessible Own scores unlistenable (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

5. The music library • Until 1995: a "traditional" library • Books, scores, periodicals on contemporary music and related fields • Since 1996: a public multimedia library • Books, scores, periodicals • Online material (mostly IRCAM’s): • Texts (music, sciences) • Audio (archives and commercial) • Video (documentary films) • CD-ROM • Databases • Internet • Open to everyone • Public: • Composers, choreographers, musicologists and performers; researchers; students… • any interested person • On- and off-site Juxtaposition  integration (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

6. The Multimedia Library collections Library system bibliographic records authority records composers’ records works records Musical database (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

7. AccessPrinciples of organization • Establish links according to significance • Score – recording – music analysis – composer’s bio… • Specific links “into” the audio (and video):extension of URL fragment identifier to image, audio, video… • Unified structure, different paths and views • Collection searches • General catalog searches • Classification scheme • Floor plan • 3D (virtual reality) interface • Specific search tools • By detailed recording information • By instrumentation, by music genre… (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

8. Archive recordings as library items • An archive recording is like • … a CD • … a copy of a work • It can be catalogued and referenced • Unimarc (with extensions for detailed instrumentation; performance?) • Uniform title allows one to find scores and recordings of the same work • It is accessed like an audio CD • Archives are compressed and stored on hard disks (RAID) • CDs are stored in jukeboxes • Listening on demand (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

9. Gateway to the system (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

10. Search by genre (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

11. Search by instrumentation (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

12. Links between documents (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

13. Listening to a recording (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

14. DigitizationThe process (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

15. Audio archives processing • Digitize old tapes • Digitization • Basic editing • Produce two mixed CDs • 1st track: metadata - detailed info about contents and event • 1 for archival purposes, 1 for library • (Verify quality and info) • Extract from CD to hard disk and compress • MPEG 1 Layer 2, CCETT software • (Verify quality) • Reference • Catalogues, databases (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

16. Metadata contents (track 1) • Recording information • Date of digitization, technician’s name • Original tape inventory n°… • Number of tracks • Event information • Date, name, place… • Performers, orchestra, conductor… • Track information • Lecture/concert • Composer, title, duration… (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

17. Issues • Rights • Personnel • Standards (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

18. Rights • Rights holders for the archives • SACEM (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique): collects rights for composers and publishers • SPEDIDAM (Société de perception et de distribution des droits des artistes-interprètes de la musique et de la danse): collects rights for performers • EIC (Ensemble Intercontemporain): intellectual rights • Constraints • Economical: fixed fee per computer client (hence only on site) • Listeners should have no way to copy the music (hence no physical access; hence only on site) (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

19. Standards (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

20. Library and related personnel • Sound engineer, technicians • Perform the technical steps from tape to compressed file • Musicologist • Validate the audio quality and the information • Cataloguers • Reference the material (with hyperlinks) • Computer scientist • Provide the tools and oversee the process (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

21. By-products • Online music analyses • Online synchronized scores and recordings • Multimedia products • Tools for research (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

22. Excerpt of music analysis of Manoury’s En écho (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

23. An online score with audio: Ligeti’s Artikulation (the Horpartitur) (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

24. An online score with audio: Ligeti’s Artikulation (Diagramme) (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

25. An online score with audio:Xenakis’ Psappha (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

26. Digitization = Preservation = Access? • Increasing volume of recordings • Media limited life-time • 10 – 20 years? • Obsolescence of hardware and software • Changing standards • AU, AIFF, ALAW, MP3, MPEG, MP3, MOD, MULAW, SND, VOC, WAV… • In order to preserve, transcode (and lose) $ t = c Digitization Preservation = access (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

27. $t = c • Industry: • maximum return in minimum time • Academia: • maximum publications (= salary) in minimum time • Technology: • the more technology - the less it lasts • Access: • the more “readers” - the less the document lasts (except for the Bible) • Archives: • maximum time in minimum cost (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

28. Current and future research • New standards • Audio/video: MP3, Real audio, Real video, Quicktime? • Metadata: XML? • Searching tools • Musical material parsing into motifs for automatic classification • Search by excerpts (not note, phrase or melody) • Psychoacoustical criteria • Online pedagogical and musicological tools • Multimedia • 3D, virtual reality, virtual worlds (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000

29. References (C) Ircam - Centre Pompidou 2000