Practice-as-Research in Music Online (PRIMO)
The project is now complete. See PRIMO
See the final report
Repositories Start-Up Project
Practice-based research in Music lacks an adequate infrastructure. Where traditional modes of dissemination, for musical scores and for text-based research, are well developed, there is no infrastructure suitable for research involving musical practice. Unless it is commercially viable enough to be marketed on disc or DVD, it remains ephemeral, and the research processes involved in production are not always apparent from the end result. PRIMO’s aim is to help redress that situation by providing researchers with a new kind of platform for sonic-based research which allows an insight into process, contextualises the end result, and opens up a new kind of dialogue among researchers.
Aims and objectives
The project sets out to create an open, national resource of practice-based research in Music: an online multimedia repository representing work in western classical, world and popular musics, for the purposes of research, study and teaching. Secondary aims are to explore and raise awareness of issues regarding licensing and open access to research materials of this type amongst the music research community, and to explore the particular issues that institutional repositories face when dealing with diverse multimedia collections.
Project methodology
The project is directed by Prof. Katharine Ellis, Director of the Institute of Musical Research. She is aided by a Steering Group representing the project partners (including Kevin Ashley and Richard Davis of the University of London Computing Centre) and specialists in the main areas of music that the project covers. An Advisory Group, including representatives from other projects (JazzHub, the British Library Sound Archive and the AHDS) are also involved. Submissions to the project are screened for suitability by a Steering Group or Advisory Group specialist in the relevant field.
Anticipated outputs and outcomes
Outputs
- A working repository suitable for a medium-sized multimedia collection
- A MCPS-PRS licence to cover all in-copyright music deposited in the repository
- Guidance on IPR issues and technical issues for depositors
Outcomes
- A new means of capturing and disseminating what was once an ephemeral event
- A new means for students to gain insights into a developing area of research that intersects with their daily creative practice
- New solutions to complex problems of intellectual property rights and management
An enhancement of confidence in the academic repository sector, which still prioritises text-based research
Technology / Standards used
MPEG, AVI or WAV, OAI-PMH, OAIS, Dublin Core (customised), Creative Commons
Project Staff
Project Manager
- Prof. Katharine Ellis, Institute of Musical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU Tel: 0207664 4866 Fax 020 7664 4867 katharine.ellis@sas.ac.uk
Project Team
- Kevin Ashley, University of London Computer Centre, 20 Guilford Street, London Tel: 020 7692 1379, Fax: 020 7692 1234 K.Ashley@ulcc.ac.uk
- Richard Davis, University of London Computer Centre, 20 Guilford Street, London. Tel: 020 7692 1350, Fax 020 7692 1234 R.Davis@ulcc.ac.uk
- Others from ULCC's Digital Archives Group