The Database of Recorded American Music (DRAM) is a continuously growing, online resource providing on-demand, high-quality

streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

access to nearly 9,000 essential musical works from 15 record labels, along with their

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

, album art, and other related materials. Designed primarily for use in an academic environment, all materials are keyword-searchable using any number of criteria, including composer, performer, date of publication,

Library of Congress Classification The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic libra ...

and label of origin. DRAM currently facilitates the use of music in research for students and faculty across 90 campuses and gives scholarship philosophical priority in its approach to both collection development and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. The

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases ...

began as a project of

New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

recording label which has successfully maintained a very precise and distinctive mission for more than thirty years: to actively document and disseminate the work of American composers, selected solely based on artistic merit. Neglected by the commercial

recording industry A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

, whose primary motivation is to minimize risk to the

profit margin Profit margin is a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the profit as a percentage of the revenue. \text = = There are 3 types of profit margins: gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin. * Gross Pro ...

, these are important compositions that would otherwise be seldom heard and narrowly accessible for listening or study. However, through DRAM, students, faculty and scholars affiliated with subscribing universities are able to access the database from their library, home or any other location, and may use the system as frequently as they wish without charge to the individual. In 2006, the parent company of DRAM and New World Records modified its name from Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc. (RAAM) to Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc. (ARM) and charter in order to allow works from non-American composers to be included in DRAM. Though New World Records remains exclusively dedicated to the American composer, DRAM's mission has been expanded to include content from foreign sources and composers, so long as it satisfies the curatorial requirements of the collection.

References

External links

DRAM website

Online music and lyrics databases American music websites {{database-stub