The German Music Archive (, DMA) in Leipzig, is the central collection of

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

and

recorded music Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording t ...

and the music-bibliographic information centre for Germany. It is a Federal agency founded in 1970, tasked with collecting all music published in the country. Publishers of printed and recorded music in Germany are required by law (since 1973) to deliver two copies of every edition as

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...

s to the archive. The DMA constitutes a department of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

, Leipzig (''Deutsche Nationalbibliothek'').

History

The archive was founded in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

on 1 January 1970, during the

division of Germany Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

as a department of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

based ''Deutsche Bibliothek''—the national library for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. It incorporated its precursor, the
Deutsche Musik-Phonothek
' (1961–1969), and was located (until 2010) at the ''Siemens-Villa'' in

Berlin-Lankwitz Lankwitz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Berlin. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz. History The locality was first mentioned in 1239 with the name of ''Lancovi ...

. In the process of

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

the West German ''Deutsche Bibliothek'' and the East German ''Deutsche Bücherei'' formed one national library with two seats in Frankfurt and Leipzig. The DMA moved to Leipzig in 2010, to be housed in an extension of the ''Deutsche Nationalbibliothek''. Construction work began in 2006 and was completed in 2011. In July 2000, the DMA also assumed the role as repository for GEMA, ''Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte,'' a German music copyright organization. Since then, music publishers only have to submit copies to DMA, which covers both national archiving and copyright registration. The 210,000 works of printed music previously held by GEMA were transferred to DMA.

Collections

Access to the archive is allowed to anyone with a

card. The library spaces, designed by

Gabriele Glöckler Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist *Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian politi ...

include listening booths and exhibition space with temperature control and firedoors. Users can copy recordings from the archive, such as out of print recordings on various formats, onto CDs. The music archive also offers music bibliographic services. A common

authority file In information science, authority control is a process that organizes information, for example in library catalogs, by using a single, distinct spelling of a name (heading) or an identifier (generally Persistent identifier, persistent and Alpha ...

is created with personal names, corporate bodies and work titles of the music, which can be made available for research purposes and as a cataloging tool. Until 2012, the DMA controlled uniform subject title files for its own use, which would then be merged into the common authority file. In addition, the German Music Archive has set up a database of loaned musical materials, the ''Bonn Catalog'', which continuously updates the German National Library. The archive contributes to the Europeana Sounds project, donating over 500 works.

References

External links

* {{authority control Archives in Germany Sound archives in Germany Music in Leipzig Arts organizations established in 1970 Government agencies established in 1970 1970 establishments in West Germany

History

Collections

See also

References

External links