Our mission is ensuring that the recording artist's creative work is carefully preserved without alteration for enjoyment by future generations.
“But haven't all the classic recordings from the 1950s through the 1980s already been preserved?”
Preservation implies no loss of quality. Even casual listeners often hear differences between an original analog release on vinyl LP and its later, analog-to-digital transfer made from the same analog master tape. When the consensus is that the original sounds notably superior, we must question the quality of the transfer.
An imperfect copy is disrespectful to everyone. Large numbers of digital re-issues deserve a careful re-doing, requiring making new, state-of-the-art transfers from the surviving analog master tapes.
“Meanwhile, the analog tapes in the vaults are all disintegrating.” — Neil Young, 2019
It’s widely known that analog magnetic audio tape can experience chemical degradation over time. Today in 2025, historic master tapes are being retrieved for things like Dolby Atmos remastering, or cutting lacquer masters for premium vinyl re-issues. Whether for convenience or cost savings, the often fragile, irreplaceable master tapes are entrusted to persons using restored vintage studio tape recorders for playback, a potentially harmful practice that is uninformed and not responsible preservation.
To help prevent further damage or loss of irreplaceable master tapes and to let the public finally hear their often astonishing audio fidelity, we’re building a multi-million-dollar facility in Santa Barbara, California, staffed with expert personnel and equipped with state-of-the-art specialized hardware to responsibly handle and preserve the cultural heritage of surviving analog master tapes. Importantly, we’re making these services available to recording copyright owners worldwide, free of cost.
It's about respecting what the artists of the golden era of music recording created for us.