Rory Kaplan, a music industry veteran with 45 years of experience, including collaborations with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, emphasizes the critical need for artists to meticulously document and preserve their musical creations. From capturing essential metadata to safeguarding recordings, this blog offers invaluable advice for artists aspiring to leave a lasting legacy in the ever-evolving music landscape.

In the digital age, preserving our digital heritage—encompassing videos, audio recordings, and images—is crucial yet challenging. The rapid evolution of technology, the vulnerability of digital files to corruption, and the immense volume of digital content make preservation complex. Addressing these challenges involves updating storage formats, implementing redundant solutions, investing in professional archiving, and organizing content with clear metadata. As we embrace these strategies amidst technological advancements, we ensure the endurance of our digital legacy for future generations.

Is your data playing a vanishing act? Just like a missing sock in the laundry, your files can disappear from your hard drive – and it's more common than you think. Hard drives aren't forever; they can start to lose data in just 5-7 years. Don't risk your digital legacy. Learn how to safeguard your data with simple steps on our latest blog.

Dave Reilly is the Senior Asset Librarian & Archivist at Warner Music Group and the UK's Global Asset Management representative. With a deep-rooted passion for music, he has managed bands and hosted live events throughout his career. IMES proudly introduces a guest blog by Dave, highlighting the importance of preserving musical assets and drawing an unexpected connection between dumbbells and archival treasures.

As hurricane season looms, the risk to our shared cultural heritage intensifies. It's vital to safeguard our archives from such severe weather events. Resources like the Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF) and the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) provide invaluable guidance for protecting personal and public collections alike.

Diving into the world of Digital Asset Management (DAM) often leads down unexpected paths, as demonstrated by a transition from a 15-year career in education to a Metadata Technician at IMES. In this blog, the journey into DAM will be shared, along with insights into what DAM is, how it benefits organizations, and a glimpse into the role at IMES. Explore the fascinating realm of digital asset management and its crucial role in preserving and organizing our shared cultural heritage.

The summer of 2022 has officially ended. Did you go on a long-delayed trip due to Covid? Did you attend your annual family reunion? Or maybe you planned a “stay-cation” and remained local? Whether you traveled to an exotic destination or picnicked in a park, the memories you made might fade over time, but any photos taken should last forever.

It’s common to capture photos in-the-moment via our phone. What’s not common is to continue their preservation journey to ensure their accessibility and security.

This blog is part of IMES’ “Protecting Legacies” series, featuring guest authors’ perspectives on archiving in pro audio. Kelly Pribble, veteran studio engineer, builder, archivist, and inventor, joins us as guest author for this blog.

This blog is part of IMES’ “Protecting Legacies” series, featuring guest authors’ perspectives on archiving in pro audio. George Massenburg, producer, engineer, educator, inventor, and designer, joins us as guest author for this blog.

We're so excited to announce our upcoming Audio Archiving Workshop! The students selected for this program will join Kelly Pribble, Director of Media Recovery Technology at Iron Mountain Entertainment Services and his team for a five-day, hands-on audio archiving workshop in Moonachie, New Jersey covering the topics of analog multi-track, analog 2-track and digital archiving.

This blog is part of IMES’ “Protecting Legacies” series, featuring guest authors’ perspectives on archiving in pro audio. Cheryl Pawelski, two-time Grammy® Award-winning producer, joins us as guest author for this blog.

This blog features Carrie Weber, an audio engineer in Boyers, PA about her journey into the world of Audio Archiving.

In September 2021, IMES created a survey, with input from the Recording Academy P&E Wing, with the intent to discover current trends and best (or worst) practices in audio archiving within the recorded music professional community. The survey was sent to 3,000 members of the P&E Wing and 11,000 subscribers of the Audio Engineering Society (AES). Read the top-level findings.

This blog is part of IMES’ “Protecting Legacies” series, featuring guest authors’ perspectives on archiving in pro audio. Joe D’Ambrosio, CEO and founder of Joe D’Ambrosio Management, joins us as guest author for this blog.

Read how Dorian Bell and his team digitized oral histories and processed metadata outside of the standard format for the Military Women's Memorial on behalf of a new 2022 traveling exhibition entitled, “The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America’s Servicewomen.”

This blog is part of IMES’ “Protecting Legacies” series, featuring guest authors’ perspectives on archiving in pro audio. Jeff Balding, Producer, Engineer and Audio Production Advocate, joins us as guest author for this blog.

Tape remediation expert Kelly Pribble dives deep into more tape remediation issues, including the “Spaghetti Western” and salt damage.

IMES’ VP of Technology Denis Leconte reflects on the thrills and chills involved with preserving a major artist’s legacy.

Ordinarily, scenarios like these would require multiple team members to spend hundreds of manual labor hours reviewing or tracking thousands of data points to complete the customer’s request. But using Python, we’re able to automate data mining requests like these to easily and efficiently deliver exactly what the client needs, at a tremendous savings of time and money to the client.

It’s time to start spring cleaning again. Although I don’t have an opinion about where you should store your snow shovels or old sports equipment, I do have one piece of advice as you start this yearly ritual: have you considered the condition of your family heirlooms? Do you know where they’re stored?