Radio Archives
Transcription Transfers
Subscription for 36,000 RAW WAV files
We are excited to announce the Transcription Disc Transfers subscription program. This is the first time our Preservation work has been offered, to a select number of collectors.
For Serious OTR collectors, this is the most important announcement you will hear in your years of collecting.
The mission of Radio Archives for 23 years has been Preservation and Restoration.
From the very beginning on January 1, 2000, we have taken a truly archival approach to the preservation of programs from radio's "Golden Age". We believe it is our responsibility to treat the many rare, historic, and frequently one-of-a-kind recordings that come to us with the care and respect they deserve. After all, many if not most of these recordings are the only audio record of broadcasts that were performed live seventy, eighty, or even ninety years ago. This is our history, the history of broadcasting, and we take our work very seriously. Our slogan since the beginning has been: "Preserve Radio's Past for the Future".
Have you ever wished you could own the same library of radio shows that Radio Archives has? Now you can. When you subscribe, you will be on your way to owning all 36,000 programs we have digitized over the years. You will have access to the raw audio in lossless digital formats of WAV and Flac. In addition, there will also be MP3 versions for your convenience.
Background
In the last 23 years Radio Archives has digitized approximately 36,000 radio shows. Only a fraction of these have been restored and sold on our website.
We start with the best possible source recordings - usually 16" transcription discs, recorded by the networks while a program was first broadcast. We bought the Transcription discs for between $5 to $50 a disc with some rare discs at $500 each. Yes, there are a number of these rare discs in this collection.
To get a high quality, professional transfer, the discs must be cleaned. We used two Ultra-Sonic Cleaners. One with the chemicals and one filled with Reverse Osmosis water for rinsing. Then they go to the Radio Archives recording studio where we digitize the discs using state of the art, high end, professional audio equipment, including many different size styli, so we can go up and down the groove wall to get the very best sound. Our studio rate is $125 per hour. This results in a WAV file of the highest quality possible.
We have never offered RAW lossless digital audio files before. This subscription includes every program that Radio Archives has Preserved. Each file is a first or second generation transfer. Transfers are mainly from transcription discs with some being from open reel tape.The files are all 44,100 Hz, 16 bits WAV files, which is standard Red Book Audio CD specifications. No restored audio is involved in this offer.
Tom describes the half of the company devoted to Preservation as "A Money Pit and Time Sink". The Restoration half of the company is what the public is familiar with. This is what finances the Preservation work. Browse through the 2,300 products on this website to see what we have created in the last 23 years.
Pricing
How is such a project like this even possible? This is a ridiculous amount of files and 23 years of work. We value the collection at between 1.5 and 2 million dollars. The answer is that the costs are being split three ways. This was the source for our Restorations, we are donating this RAW collection to a museum in exchange for a large tax deduction, and the smallest part is this subscription program.
The subscription price is $120 per month or 20 cents per radio show.
You will receive all 36,000 radio shows with automatic payments of $120 per month for 5 years.
Subscribe using the Paypal button below. Your first payment of $120 will be charged today. The next payment will be charged next month on the same day that you subscribed and monthly after that.
The first 600 files will be sent to you on the day you subscribe and the next 600 files on the 1st of each month following your monthly payment. Each file is available in 3 digital file formats, WAV, Flac, and MP3.
Don’t wait! – subscribe today to the world's premier Transcription Disc collection.
Note: You are buying an individual license, strictly for your own private use. For additional use, such as for a club, organization, or if you are a dealer, please write for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How are the files for the shows organized?
We assign a 5 digit Archive Number to the show when it is being recorded. You will receive an Excel spreadsheet each month that has the 5 digit Archive Number, the name of the show, date, title, time, network, commercials etc. You can sort the spreadsheet anyway you like and will know which files to listen to.
2. How large is this collection?
36,000 WAV files are 4tb. To get a feel of the size, the 5,000 files on the 88 Radio Archives Treasures sets represent about one seventh of this collection.
3. I understand from the description that there is no CEDAR or other processing involved.
That is correct. These are exactly what you would hear on the monitor speakers in our recording studio as the transcription discs were being digitized.
4. Are label scans of the transcription discs included with this subscription?
Yes they are. As a bonus, all of our 300 dpi high resolution Label Scans will be sent to you at the end of the 5 year subscription. The low resolution scans on this webpage, are examples of what you will receive.
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