ARSC News

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is pleased to announce the recipients of this year's ARSC Awards for Independent Initiatives.

• T. Christopher Aplin — Architect of a tribe-centered model for preserving and reintroducing imperiled Native American audio recordings
• Nicholas Bergh — Developer of state-of-the-art platforms enabling preservation transfers of unprecedented fidelity
• Henri Chamoux— Inventor of the first widely adopted professional cylinder transfer platform and operator of a public website providing access to thousands of the world’s oldest sound recordings

ARSC is pleased to honor these passionate, driven, dedicated individuals who are advancing the field of sound recording through their own initiatives outside of their professional duties. Its Independent Initiatives Award carries a no-strings-attached prize of $5,000 per recipient to support, encourage, and promote their good works. Recipients will be honored the evening of May 16 at an awards ceremony during ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop in Memphis, Tennessee.

Read more about the recipients: 

https://arsc-award.org/recipients-2026.html

Read more about the awards:

https://arsc-award.org/2026-0128.html

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) invites proposals for speaker presentations, panel discussions, and posters at ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop, to be held in Memphis, Tennessee, May 13-16, 2026 at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel.

The deadline for proposals has been extended to Jan. 26, 2026. Please see the Call for Proposals on the ARSC Conference website for details.

ARSC welcomes proposals on all aspects of sound recording, in all formats, covering all genres of music and speech, in all periods from the 1800s to the present. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) record labels and artists, recording and playback technology, watershed moments in the history of sound recording, radio broadcasts, podcasts, copyright and other legal issues, discography and innovative approaches to research, preservation, cataloging, and access.

ARSC is pleased to announce the ARSC Archival Cylinder Box, the highest-quality, safest, and densest housing available today for the long-term storage of historical cylinder recordings.

ARSC is now accepting orders for a limited production run in spring 2026. To read more and place your order, please see the ARSC Archival Cylinder Box web page. Orders are due by Feb. 15, 2026. Payments must be received by Feb. 28, 2026.

ARSC is pleased to announce the winners of the ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for 2025.

2025 Awards for Excellence Winners

In bestowing these awards ARSC recognizes those publishing the very best work in recorded sound research and promotes readership of their works. Follow the links on the awards page to purchase copies of their works!

Authors will be recognized at the ARSC Awards banquet during ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop in Memphis, TN, May 13-16, 2026. Please join us!

Additional information about the ARSC Awards for Excellence may be found at https://arsc-audio.org/awards-excellence.

Additional information about the ARSC's Annual Conference and Workshop may be found at https://arsc-audio.org/conference.

Congratulations to all finalists and award winners! And thank you to the ARSC Awards Committee. 

ARSC is pleased to call for applications for ARSC Research Grants. Applications are due by January 31, 2026.

ARSC Research Grants support scholarship and publication in the fields of sound recording research and audio preservation. Project categories eligible for consideration include: discography, bibliography, historical studies of the sound recording industry and its products, and any other subject likely to increase the public's understanding and appreciation of the lasting importance of recorded sound.

ARSC members and non-members alike are eligible for grants in amounts up to $1000. ARSC encourages applications from individuals whose research forms part of an academic program at the master's or doctoral level.

Research Grant guidelines can be viewed at: https://arsc-audio.org/research-grants-program

Questions can be directed to: arscgrants@gmail.com

Research Grants are supported by membership dues and contributions.

Join or renew your membership in ARSC!

https://arsc-audio.org/join

Donate to ARSC!

https://arsc-audio.org/donate

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is pleased to announce the publication of ARSC Newsletter 168 (Fall 2025):
 
https://arsc-audio.org/newsletter
 
For members with print subscriptions, copies will arrive in mailboxes soon.
For members with digital subscriptions, find the newsletter at the link above.
 
ARSC Newsletter 168 (Fall 2025) Contents

• "President's Report," by Yuri Shimoda
• "Using the Ray Wile Library," by Ryan Barna
• "Tulsa Conference Wrap-Up and Memphis Highlights," by Curtis Peoples
• 2025 Research Grant Recipients
• "How to Use the ARSC Library," by Tim Brooks
• "An Extraordinary Discovery Leads to New Research on the Earliest Classical Recordings," an ARSC Research Grant Report by Andrew Krastins
• "Obituary: Paul C. Charosh," by Tim Brooks
• Distinguished Service to ARSC Award 2025 Presented to Seth B. Winner
• ARSC Journal 2025 Best Article/Best Review of the Year Awards
  
• ARSC 2025 Awards for Excellence Finalists Announced
• ARSC at Record and Audio Shows
• "Afro-Colombian Recordings of the 1960s and ‘70s," an ARSC Research Grant Report by Kumera Genet
• ARSC Conference Photos
• And more....!

To contribute to the ARSC Newsletter, contact:

ARSC Newsletter Editor Tim Brooks at tim@timbrooks.net

To advertise in the ARSC Newsletter, contact:

ARSC Executive Director Nathan Georgitis at execdir@arsc-audio.org

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is now accepting applications for ARSC Conference Grants for ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop to be held May 13-16, 2026 in Memphis, Tennessee. The application deadline is Monday, January 12, 2026. The grants are designed to: encourage newcomers to attend ARSC conferences reach out to college students and professionals in the early stages of their careers promote mentoring and professional development opportunities advance scholarly research and publication, and support ARSC members who desire to participate more actively in the association. In addition, the committee will also be using a portion of our grant funds to specifically enable persons who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) to attend their first ARSC conference. Persons who do not identify as BIPOC/LGBTQIA are also encouraged to apply for Conference Grants. Grants include: complimentary registration for the entire ARSC Conference. complimentary registration for the ARSC Workshop. reimbursement up to US$750 to defray the expenses of transportation and lodging upon approval of valid receipts, to be submitted after the conference. Rental car costs for transportation within the conference city are not reimbursable. For additional guidelines and submission information, see the ARSC Conference Grants web page: https://arsc-audio.org/conference-grants-program

ARSC is pleased to announce that sound recordings of presentations at ARSC’s 59th Annual Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma are now available online to ARSC members, with selected recordings also available to the public. 
 
https://arsc.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3300

If you require new Aviary login credentials, select Login and then Forgot Password to receive an email with instructions. Haven't set up your Aviary account? Use the "Don't have an account? Join now!" option at the bottom of the login window to create a free account.

Still no access or have questions? Please contact ARSC's Executive Director. 

Please note that ARSC recordings are protected by copyright. Copies are made available here with the presenters' permission solely for personal and educational non-profit, non-commercial use. No part may be sold, loaned, distributed, broadcast, or published without the written permission of the presenter.
 
Thank you to all who presented or chaired sessions at the conference.

It's not too early to think ahead to ARSC's 60th Annual Conference and Workshop in Memphis, May 13-16, 2026!

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2025 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.
 
ARSC Awards for Excellence Finalists Press Release

Begun in 1991, the ARSC Awards for Excellence are awarded to authors of books, articles, or recording liner notes to recognize those publishing the very best work in recorded sound research.

The 2025 Awards for Excellence honor works published in 2024 and will be presented at ARSC's 60th Annual Conference, May 13-16, 2026 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Please support our finalists by purchasing a copy of their works.

For more information about the Awards for Excellence:
https://arsc-audio.org/awards-excellence

Congratulations to all finalists! And thank you to the ARSC Awards Committee chair and judges.