This volume is what remains of a longer work begun in winter, 1971, by a single archivist whose name does not survive the binding. It catalogues those persons and institutions through whom permission to reproduce, perform, sample, set in type, or otherwise extend a piece of recorded culture must pass. The directory is incomplete by design—a finished directory of licensors is a contradiction—and is corrected only by correspondence. Entries are admitted on evidence; rumours are tabled. Where a licensor's terms have changed since the most recent letter, the entry is marked with a dagger†.
The reader will find six sections, lettered A through F, organized not alphabetically by licensor but topographically by the kind of right held: the recorded performance, the photographic image, the lettered face, the patented mechanism, the proprietary molecule, the public-domain adjacency. Within each section, entries are set in the order in which they entered the ledger. New entries displace nothing; the old register stands. Errors are inevitable; corrections welcomed by post.
— Compiler's note, recopied from the original endpaper, August 1989. The hand is not the original archivist's; the ink is the same.
Every recorded sound, every photograph reproduced, every typeface set, every patented mechanism, every public-domain folk song re-arranged for hire—somewhere, a person or institution holds the right to permit or refuse its use. This directory does not adjudicate those rights. It only locates the ones who do.
❦ from the dedication, vol. I, 1973 ❧
Harry Fox Agency, Inc.Mechanical licenses, U.S. compositions; statutory rate or negotiated. Correspondence only.[ASCAP-1981.07]
Tro · Essex Music GroupFolk and theatrical catalogues; Guthrie, Seeger estates by way of separate covenant. [Polk's NYC, 1962]
Edition Wilhelm HansenNielsen, Sibelius (in part), and Northern European serial repertoire. Copenhagen office only.
Stim · Svenska TonsättaresMechanical & performance, Swedish repertoire. Sample clearance referred to NCB. [NCB-1979.11]
Sub Pop PublishingCatalogue 1988–1996, fixed-fee buyouts for film and short-form. †
Editions SalabertMessiaen, Boulez (early), Varese estate. Letter of intent required.
G. Ricordi & C., MilanoOperatic and verismo repertoire; Puccini through Respighi. Italian-language correspondence preferred.
Sample Clearance Ltd.Independent broker; works on percentage. One-line italic note: typical fee 18–42%.[trade letter, 1994]
Plate II · Carbon-copy contracts, bound with red string. Folio recovered, 1986.
Magnum Photos, Paris & New YorkCooperative; member-by-member clearance for editorial and commercial. [Magnum bull., 1976]
Hulton Archive (now Getty)UK historical reportage; Picture Post, Keystone, Topical Press. Reproduction fees on a sliding folio.
Bibliothèque nationale de France · EstampesEngravings, daguerreotypes; reproduction by formal request, 6–10 weeks.
VAGA · Visual Artists & Galleries Assn.U.S. fine-art reproduction rights; Rothko estate, Pollock estate (per separate trust).
DACS, LondonUK artists' visual reproduction; secondary licensing collected by post and bank draft. †
Black Star, New YorkPhotojournalism archive 1935–present; Berlin office closed 1991, files transferred.
Roger-Viollet, ParisIconographic agency since 1938; sepia stock and Vichy-era reportage. [Paris dir., 1971]
Monotype ImagingLibrary inheritor of Berthold, Linotype, ITC, Ascender. Per-seat and per-impression terms.[ATypI-1995]
Hoefler & Co.Display and text revivals; Mercury, Whitney, HTF Didot. Direct-to-customer.
Klingspor-Museum, OffenbachHistoric German foundry archive; Koch, Tiemann punch matrices. Reproduction by curatorial visit.
House Industries, Yorklyn DELettering and signage; Neutraface, Eames-licensed faces.
Fundición Tipográfica BauerSpanish foundry, dormant 1971–present; rights administered by heirs. †
Coriell InstituteHeritable cell lines; access governed by NIGMS guidelines. †
European Collection of Authenticated Cell CulturesUK Health Security Agency biorepository; academic and commercial schedules differ. [ECACC cat., 2003]
Plate III · Composing stick, hand-set 12pt. Photographed in candlelight, 1979.
Topic Records / EFDSS LibraryEnglish folk-revival archive; Cecil Sharp House catalogue. [EFDSS-1968]
Smithsonian FolkwaysRe-arrangement clearance and field-recording reproduction; non-profit terms.
Alan Lomax ArchiveField recordings, 1935–1995; reproduction fee tabled by region.
Ocora · Radio FranceWorld-music field recordings, French national broadcaster custody.
Public Domain Information ProjectVolunteer compilers verify lapse of copyright; not a licensor, but indispensable for adjacent diligence.
Ethnic Folkways Library, NYSuccessor rights administered jointly with Folkways; correspondence preferred. †