[ARSCLIST] Soapbox

[Dave Lewis <dlewis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This may cause some to wonder about my naïvete here; certainly it is well intentioned, and if anyone has reason to dismiss this suggestion altogether I would love some feedback to calm my mind. But I read today that Sony lost 95 percent of its profit margin last quarter. It comes on the heels of news from a friend of mine who worked as a retail rep for UMG for years and years, an integral part of their retail operation. He was let go Friday.

My feeling is that some within ARSC might want to begin discussing strategies to prevent, or at least combat, mass ditching of archival materials by such huge companies -- that are in possession of a large part of America's recorded heritage -- should they wind up on a receiver's index, or in a hostile takeover or cut-rate buyout, whatever. IASA needs to be involved as well, as many of the materials are vaulted over in Europe. We should have the attitude that if huge banks like Merrill Lynch aren't able to "stay in business forever," then neither can these companies. Something to work on, discuss at this point. I just don't want to be kicking myself if word comes that when Sony spun off its music division that the new owner junked the metal masters belonging to RCA or some such, and we didn't try to provide safe haven for them in some way.

Uncle Dave Lewis
Ann Arbor, MI