Call for composers and publishers to deposit digital scores

Blog series Music

The British Library and the five other Legal Deposit Libraries of the UK and Ireland are embarking upon a drive to collect as many digital scores as possible from composers and independent publishers, so that our collections can better represent the enormous range of music-making happening today.

This is part of our work to collect music under the terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 and the subsequent Non-Print Works Regulations 2013. While we have arrangements with some major publishers to send us copies of every work they publish, the changing landscape and significant increase in self-publishing means that our current collections of contemporary music have many gaps, which we urgently want to rectify.

We want to raise awareness of the importance of Legal Deposit, and of its obligations for self-publishing composers and independent publishers.

What is Legal Deposit?

Legal Deposit is a centuries-old mechanism that has facilitated the systematic collection and preservation of music published in Britain since the 18th century. It safeguards cultural heritage for future generations and provides a snapshot of the music-making of any given era. A large proportion of the British Library’s vast collection of printed music – from 18th century classical scores to pop sheet music of the 2000s – has been collected this way, and we rely on publishers and self-publishing composers to send us their scores to make sure the national collection continues to grow and reflect changing practices of music-making.

Under the terms of the Legal Deposit Act 2003, all publishers (including self-publishing authors and composers) are obliged to provide one copy of each of their published works, free of charge, to the British Library. ‘Published’ work includes anything made available to the public, for instance through a works list on a website where performance or perusal materials can be requested on a direct or on-demand basis.

For composers and publishers, Legal Deposit means that scores will be preserved in the long-term and available to current and future generations of musicians and researchers to consult at the Library. Library users are able to study the scores under strictly controlled, view-only conditions in our reading rooms. No downloading is permitted.

Collecting digital scores

Electronic publications now fall within the remit of Legal Deposit collecting, and libraries around the world have been developing infrastructure to collect, preserve, and make available digital scores. Digital music publishing has taken off considerably in the past decade, with ever-more scores being made available in PDF and other formats. Digital scores carry a higher risk of loss associated with the precarities of fast-changing digital infrastructure. Having a copy preserved at the British Library will provide an additional safeguard for the long-term preservation of digital scores.

Composers and publishers: we need you!

We are therefore calling out to composers and small publishers to send the British Library one copy of each of their available digital scores. This should be in the format in which it is made available to the public or performers: most often, this is PDF, but we can accept music notation files and are happy to be in touch if you wish to send other formats. We also accept ‘bundles’ of material in cases where audio files are routinely made available alongside scores.

Once processed and securely preserved by the British Library, the material will be available for library users to view on dedicated computer terminals in reading rooms at the six Legal Deposit Libraries: the British Library; Bodleian Library, University of Oxford; Cambridge University Library; National Library of Scotland; National Library of Wales; and the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Readers will be able to view files but will not be able to download them, and all normal copyright restrictions will apply.

Please help us preserve your music for future generations. Get in touch with digitalscores@bl.uk to start the process: we look forward to working with you!