Our Mission

The history of music is being written every day, in recording studios, concert halls, and elsewhere. Audio recordings are all that remain when the music stops. However,
 

• physical and chemical degradation of recording media,
• obsolescence of playback equipment and
• loss of technical expertise

are the main factors that compromise the lifespan of this heritage.

Countless recordings of inestimable value have already disappeared. According to UNESCO, we only have about 10 to 15 years left to transfer available audiovisual recordings to digital media and prevent their loss. These recordings can then be easily transferred to any other format or media without any loss of quality.

That is the heritage the United Music Foundation works to preserve and pass on.

As a registered non-profit established in Geneva in 2013, the United Music Foundation has as a mission to:

• seek out, restore and digitize
  heritage audio recordings in high definition and in the best technical conditions,
• recount their history
  using photographs, documents, and personal stories or accounts,
• promote and transmit
  that heritage through album releases, raising awareness among the general public.

Restored recordings are released as Collector's Editions, recreating the emotional appeal of the original works.

All profits from the sale of our releases are used to make other preservation projects possible.

Rescue in extremis
Original master tape from 1962

Rescue in extremis
Original master from 1967
losing its oxide coating