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How it works

Recordings are added to the Registry each year, selected by a panel of experts from the recorded sound industry and cultural institutions and chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

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The National Registry of recorded sound

The Registry was launched in February 2007 with a foundation list of ten. Each year, the NFSA calls for public nominations which are assessed by a panel of experts from the recorded sound industry and cultural institutions who select the recordings to be added to the Registry.

Nomination process

Public nominations will be accepted throughout each year for consideration in that year’s selection process. Nominations close on 19 June 2011 and nominations received after this date will be considered in 2012. Public nominations must be submitted on the Nomination form. Individuals may submit up to three nominations per year. Panel members may also nominate recordings. Nominations should include enough information to enable identification and location of the recording, including artist(s) where relevant, and record label name/number for published recordings. Nominations should consider the selection criteria below and include a brief justification.

Selection process

From the nominations, the panel will recommend recordings to the Chair of the panel for inclusion in the Registry in 2011. The panel may also recommend nominations to be held over for consideration the following year.

Selection criteria

  • A recording must be at least ten years old to be nominated.
  • Recordings are assessed on their cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance, and how they inform or reflect life in Australia.
  • For the purposes of the Registry, 'sound recordings’ are defined as works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sound component of a moving image work, unless it is available as a stand alone sound recording or is the only surviving component of the work.
  • Recordings may be a single item or group of related items; published or unpublished; and may contain music, spoken word, or any other sound.
  • Recordings do not have to be part of the NFSA’s National Recorded Sound Collection.

Sounds of Australia Patrons

  • 2010 Joy McKean, singer, writer and musician.
  • 2009 Robyn Archer AO, singer, writer, artistic director and public advocate for the arts.
  • 2008 Renée Geyer, ARIA Hall of Fame inductee and iconic 'first lady of soul’.
  • 2007 Dr Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE, composer.
  • 2007 (inaugural patron) Paul Grabowsky, musician and composer.