Metadata Study by the ARSC Technical Committee

The Outreach Committee of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) posts the following message.

--- ARSC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE METADATA STUDY ---

The ARSC Technical Committee announces its release of "A Study of Embedded Metadata Support in Audio Recording Software: Summary of Findings and Conclusions." The document is available at: http://www.arsc-audio.org/technical-committee.html

This report presents the findings of a Technical Committee study,
coordinated by AudioVisual Preservation Solutions, evaluating support for embedded metadata within and across a variety of audio recording software applications.

This work addresses two primary questions:

1. How well does embedded metadata persist, and is its integrity maintained, within any given file as it is handled by various applications over time?

2. How well is embedded metadata handled during the process of creating a derivative?

The report concludes that persistence and integrity issues are prevalent across the audio software applications studied.

In addition to the report, test methods and reference files are provided for download, enabling the reader to perform metadata integrity testing.

If you have any questions, please contact Mike Casey, Co-Chair of the ARSC Technical Committee:
micasey@indiana.edu

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings -- in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together private individuals and institutional professionals -- everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound.