Do you have material related to Detroit music you want to preserve? Do you have stories you’d like to share about Detroit and music? Do you remember going to The Blue Bird Inn and want to share those stories?
Please Consider Donating Materials or Your Stories to Detroit’s Music Archive!
Send an email to info@detroitsound.org to get started!
Detroit Sound Conservancy (DSC) is the only community-based archive documenting the full and complex history of Detroit music. The stories and objects that comprise our musical legacies can be found on every block of our city, in garages, basements, attics, and closets. Do you have historic artifacts in your home that could be shared with your community?
What is a community-based archive?
A community-based archive is a community organization that preserves all different kinds of materials to make them accessible to people in the present and future generations.
Why should I donate my stuff to DSC?
Donating your materials to DSC has many benefits. It will ensure that your materials will be stored safely in environmentally controlled, secure physical and/or digital storage by professional archivists who will oversee proper handling and use. It will make your materials available to yourself and others for generations to come. DSC will discuss the historical significance of your records with you and will work with you every step of the way, explaining what will happen after or as you continue to donate material. Our staff and board members are members of Detroit’s musical communities, and we work with community members to tell the under-appreciated and hidden histories of the many musical genres that have been innovated in our city.
What can I give?
DSC accepts all sorts of relevant donations from physical collections to terabytes of files. Any item or story that informs Detroit’s musical heritage falls within our purview, regardless of orderliness, age, or association with famous events or people. We prefer originals, but we’re also capable of making copies and returning the originals to you as well.
Before you donate:
The research value of records may be diminished if items are removed or if the records are rearranged, therefore contact DSC before weeding, discarding, or reorganizing papers and records, regardless of their location or format. Providing contextual information, such as names of people who appear in photographs or the stories behind significant items is
invaluable for our efforts. DSC will want to know who created or organized the materials along with the people and topics documented in your materials.