Archive of Contemporary Music

BIO

Archive of Contemporary Music is a not-for-profit archive, music library and research center located in downtown New York City, in the U.S. It was founded by B. George, the Director, and David Wheeler (1957-1997). The collection is maintained by Archivist Fred Patterson. Daniel Neely is the Director of ARChive’s New York Musicians Index and Archive project; Bryan Koniarz and Jon Hammer also staff this project.

The center collects, preserves and provides information on the popular music of all cultures and races throughout the world from 1950 to the present. Its holdings stand at about two million sound recordings (and counting), making it the largest popular music collection in the United States. In addition to sound recordings and publications, the archive actively collects all books, magazines, videos, films, photographs, press kits, newspapers clippings, memorabilia and ephemera relating to the history of popular music, a collection that now includes over two million items. Although substantial, their collection continues to grow, largely through generous donations from record companies, publishers, and distributors from all around the world.

The collection also features African music from countries such as Zimbabwe, Tunisia, D.R. Congo and many others.