What happens to that live concert you just heard on the radio?

Or that specially-commissioned broadcast from a visiting musical legend?

It all gets archived.

Music archives, whether owned by broadcasters, museums, institutions or private collections, are home to a treasure trove of audio. And the contents are not only music - videos, books, documents, manuscripts and musical instruments are all part of Europe's cultural heritage. But due to lack of interoperability between data catalogues, this material often lies hidden from the outside world. Searching in European archives by theme requires separate visits to each archive, whether you are using your mouse or your feet. DISMARC, a two-year EU-funded project initiated in September 2006, addresses the problem.

The demand for DISMARC comes from both content providers and content users - archives, broadcasters, content aggregators, download platforms, educational publishers, media, performing artists, music labels, researchers, students and the general public. The results will be available in over twenty languages and make a significant contribution to overcoming the twin bottlenecks of technology and rights management that hinder access to some of Europe's greatest musical treasures.

Partners will provide copies of their metadata to be made available via the DISMARC website, and all data will be searchable from one point of access. The project is compatible with the EU's i2010 Digital Libraries Initiative, and will provide a means of delivering music to The European Library. Other archives, museums and broadcasters from all over Europe are participating in this unique venture.