Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV)

Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) is Cameroon's state broadcasting company. Also known as l'Office de radio et de télévision public au Cameroun, CRTV has archives with unique recordings of local music. These recordings are largely open-reel audio tape recordings, as well as fragile shellac records and vinyl formats. This recorded musical heritage of modern music of Cameroon represents several thousand hours’ worth of sound recordings.

The holdings cover the period from the 1950s to the 1990s. The oldest tapes and disks are up to 60 years old. The sound recordings are not only located at the headquarters of the radio in the capital Yaounde, but also in offices in the various regions of the country.

A considerable part of the tapes and records are in an alarming state. Their digitization project is organized jointly by the CRTV in Cameroon and the Iwalewa House, the African Studies Center of Bayreuth University in Germany. Funding has been provided from the German Foreign Office in Berlin for cultural preservation. The embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Goethe-Institut in Yaounde are also involved in the project.