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Demo Tapes, etc. in Archives



Hello List.

This is different from but tangentially related to the question concerning
making available oral histories where no release forms are on file:

I would be interested in hearing from archivists who have found themselves
dealing with organizational records that include materials
submitted to the organization by people not affiliated by that organization.
Specifically, I am thinking of the many types of organizations that may have
sponsored a performance event to which people applied by sending demo tapes
(audio or video), promotional packets, photos, etc.  I'm trying to assess
how an archive that houses the organizational records should address these
materials from third party sources.

In the past 15 years I've worked in a variety of archival settings, but most
of these were inclined to accept or actively collect records from such
entities as recording labels, music festivals, and arts organizations.  It
often has been the case that the archives ended up with, say, tapes
(published and unpublished) submitted to a record label, a song publishing
company, an arts organization, etc. by people interested in either being
accepted for a performance roster or getting their material recorded or
published. Keeping these submissions is helpful in demonstrating or
documenting the scope of the organization's activities, but since each
submission probably reflects copyrighted work(s), what is the consensus
about the limitations on a) receiving these into an archive, and b) making
them available to researchers?

Often the sheer number of these items precludes any kind of individualized
"search" for controlling parties to obtain clarification of their status.
For a specific example, I can think of a southern record label and music
publishing firm that received tapes on a daily basis (ca. 1965-1985) from
aspiring song writers and recording artists often accompanied by typed or
handwritten lyric sheets and correspondence.  Taken as a whole, the body of
such material amassed by the company over a period of several decades can
reveal a tremendous amount about the hopes and dreams of ordinary "amateur"
musicians as well as their circumstances, their treatment during the quest
for public recognition, and their stylistic influences and contributions to
popular music. In short, the materials provide a flip side to the portrait
of American music most often revealed through "published" and or
"commercial" channels.  But-- and herein lies the rub-- none of these people
imagined that their demo tapes (often homemade) would end up in a public
archive.  There is nothing that explicitly permits these materials to be
kept or made available outside the context of the original submission.  I am
inclined to think that such materials might be made available, if at all,
for personal use and study only under Fair Use, but I would appreciate
hearing the interpretations of others who've found themselves addressing
similar collections.  Surely, the records of book publishers include all
manner of unpublished manuscripts, so what is the status of such materials
as far as an archive is concerned?

I suppose there is a precedent set by correspondence since most of us, when
we write a letter, do not anticipate that the papers of the person (or
organization) we are writing might one day end up in an archive.  Wasn't
this the gist of the famous Sallinger case?  Does this mean that anytime
someone drops a letter or other item in the mail, there is the potential for
it to surface many years later in an archive open to the public?  The
difference here is that the material referred to above was submitted
originally in hopes of financial gain and / or public artistic exposure.

Since archives are usually without any forms to help govern the use of such
material, what guidelines have people used in administering these things?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Steve Green
Western Folklife Center
501 Railroad Street
Elko, NV 89801
sgreen@westernfolklife.org