ARSC Annual Conference and Workshop

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections will host ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop, May 13-16, 2026 in Memphis, Tennessee at the Memphis Riverline Hotel!

The ARSC Conference will include presentations and panel discussions with sound recording scholars, collectors, preservationists, and creators engaged in a broad range of topics that cross geographic, cultural, and collection boundaries, as well as tours of local sites, opening and closing receptions, a silent auction, a collectors' roundtable, and an awars banquet. The conference will feature tours of Sun Records and Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum.

The ARSC Workshop will provide attendees an opportunity to explore in-depth the copyright issues in sound recordings at a level that cannot normally be gained through regular conference presentations. The emphasis will be on law at a technical level. Eric Harbeson and Yuanxiao Xu, both from Authors Alliance, a copyright education and advocacy organization, will lead the workshop, and Tim Brooks, Chair, ARSC Copyright & Fair Use Committee, will be on hand to moderate and contribute. The workshop will support those who want to share their creations or collections broadly and responsibly.

The Memphis Riverline Hotel is steps from Beale Street and has offered a discounted rate of $189/night for rooms with a king or two double beds. (Reservations made after April 19 will be subject to availability and may not receive the group rate.)

Interested in sponsoring ARSC's 60th Annual Conference? Please see the conference sponsorship opportunities and contact ARSC's Executive Director.

Memphis sites related to music/sound recordings include:

• Sun Records
• Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum
• Stax Museum of American Soul Music
• Graceland
• Memphis Symphony Orchestra
• Blues Hall of Fame Museum
• Memphis Listening Lab
• University of Memphis Music Library and School of Music
• Memphis Music Hall of Fame

Additional attractions include:

• National Civil Rights Museum
• SMOKESLAM BBQ Showdown