July 29, 2013 – In what is being described as a "game changer" move, musician Jack White has donated $200,000 to the National Recording Preservation Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving old audio and musical recordings for history for the US Library of Congress for future generations. White also sits on the board of the NRPF, and donates a lot of his time to this unique mission. Many old musical recording are in "analog format" and on materials such as wax cylinder, magnetic plastic tape, or a plastic phonograph. These range from American folk songs from the turn of the century, to 45-RPM records that have become a part of our American culture and history. These materials break down, and the audio is lost forever. The process to transfer them from analog to a digital format is expensive and time consuming, and this donation will help kick start the effort and raise awareness and action on this endeavor. The foundation also receives matching funds from other individuals, non-profits and even the government, and much of the work will be in exhibits in museums for future music lovers to enjoy and learn from in the future.
Read more about the donation on NRPF's Press Release here. and check out the awesome work of the National Recording Preservation Foundation here. (photo credit: www.recordingpreservation.org)
