MusicSG – A Digital Music Archive From the National Library, Singapore

Abstract

This paper will explore MusicSG, a portal developed by the National Library Board of Singapore. MusicSG is a digital archive collecting and providing access to music composed or published by Singaporeans; music produced or published in Singapore; and music related to Singapore. In particular, the paper will look at the development, management and promotion of the MusicSG archive and highlight some of the challenges and learning points related to a project of this nature which dealt with music resources, a collection in multiple formats that is diverse and complicated on many fronts. The initial objective of MusicSG was to archive popular and traditional ASEAN mu-sic. However, in November 2010, the direction of MusicSG shifted to be that of a digital ar-chive of recorded music from Singapore. From 2013 to 2014, the MusicSG project team embarked on revitalising the portal. Through the many collaborative efforts with industry and content owners, the project team successfully expanded the digital archive with new and unique content, revamping the web-site and undertaking a series of outreach and promotional efforts to raise awareness of the portal and the wealth of resources from NLB. With the launch of this digital archive, NLB and MusicSG have not only brought together a suite of content on Singapore music, but have also raised the awareness of Singapore music and provided resources for research and discovery, whilst contributing to NLB's initiative to preserve Singapore’s artistic heritage and legacy.