Subsonic Update
Due to incompatibility with the University’s multi-factor authentication service, our music streaming server, Subsonic, has been retired. Recordings for subjects have been made available for students in the relevant subject LMS/Canvas sites. Speak with your lecturer if you're unsure.
NOTE: For general listening, Naxos Music Library and other online music services are still available.
Online Sound Recordings
- Music Online This link opens in a new windowMusic Online brings together on a single cross-searchable platform the entire suite of Alexander Street Press music products that the Library subscribes to. With Music Online, Alexander Street Press aims to provide the most comprehensive database in streaming audio, video, reference, and scores on the web.
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new windowNaxos Music Library is the most comprehensive collection of classical music available online. The Naxos Music Library offers streamed audio recordings from the complete catalogues of the Naxos and Marco Polo labels and selected recordings from over 640 other independent labels including EMI, Warner Classics and Sony Classical. Additional resources include music notes, cover artwork, tracklistings, instrumentation and publisher information, libretti and synopses of more than 700 operas, composer and artist biographies, pronunciation guide for composer and artist names, glossary, guide to musical terms and work analyses.
- Classical Music Library (Alexander Street Press)Multi-label database of Classical music recordings for listening and learning in libraries. Coverage includes music written from the earliest times (e.g. Gregorian Chant) to the present, including many contemporary composers. Repertoire ranges from vocal and choral music, to chamber, orchestral, solo instrumental, and opera.
- Contemporary World Music (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new windowContemporary World Music delivers the sounds of all regions from every continent. The database will contain important genres such as reggae, worldbeat, neo-traditional, world fusion, Balkanic jazz, African film, Bollywood, Arab swing and jazz, and other genres such as traditional music - Indian classical, fado, flamenco, klezmer, zydeco, gospel, gagaku, and more.
- Jazz Music Library (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new windowJazz Music Library has a large comprehensive collection from legendary record labels and the list of artists is enormous. Content is added on a regular basis. The aim of Jazz Music Library is to release new content monthly and focus is on releasing a large number of albums. Indexing is included for each album and includes detailed instrumentation and performer information.
- Music Online - American Music (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new windowAmerican Song is a history database that allows people to hear and feel the music from America's past. The database includes songs by and about American Indians, miners, immigrants, slaves, children, pioneers, and cowboys. Included in the database are the songs of Civil Rights, political campaigns, Prohibition, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, anti-war protests, and more.
- Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries This link opens in a new windowSmithsonian Global Sound for Libraries, produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
- Digital Collections on MinervaDigitised collections at the University of Melbourne.
- Australian Composers Collection on MinervaAustralian Composers Off-Air Sound Recordings.
Other Online Sound Recordings
(Open Access)
- Australian National Film & Sound ArchiveThe nation’s living archive – collecting, preserving and sharing our rich audiovisual heritage. Includes an indigenous collection.
- British Library SoundsDigital archive of 12,000 sound recordings.
- CHARM: The AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded MusicA partnership of Royal Holloway, University of London with King's College, London and the University of Sheffield, CHARM's aim was to promote the musicological study of recordings, drawing on a wide range of approaches ranging from computational analysis to business history.
- EVIA Digital ArchiveDigital archive of ethnographic video maintained by Indiana University and the University of Michigan.
- Internet Archive - Audio ArchiveContains over two hundred thousand free digital recordings.
- Phonobase: Disques et cylindres de la Belle Époque en ligne = Early Gramophone Records and Phonograph Cylinders On-line DatabasePhonobase gathers sound excerpts and photos taken from early cylinders and records made from 1888 to 1914 approximately, mainly distributed in France and Europe.
- Recording PioneersWho's who of sound recorders from 1878 to 1940.
- Sounz - Centre for New Zealand MusicSOUNZ champions and promotes the music of Aotearoa New Zealand
- UCSB Cylinder Audio ArchiveUniversity of California, Santa Barbara's archive of 8,000 digitized cylinder recordings. (Coverage: mid-1890s - mid-1920s)
- US National JukeboxMore than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925.
CD & Vinyl Collections
To find sound recordings, do an advanced keyword search on the library catalogue.
Keyword search for online recordings
- specify distinctive words or phrases eg Messiaen
- Modify or Limit Search to Online Music Audio
Vinyl recordings
Southbank Library also holds a large collection of sound recordings on vinyl. They are in closed access but can be requested and listened to in the library. They are not available for loan. Please ask at the Service Desk if you need assistance.
Sound Recordings for Research
The library catalogue is a key resource for finding sound recordings held in the library. Here are some tips for searching:
- Search by instrument, region, style, genre, performer, time period, composer, title of work.
- In the initial search screen, you may limit your search to CD Collections or Online Music Audio.
- To widen your search to include vinyl records, go to Advanced Keyword Search and select Sound Record under the Material Type menu.
- You may also search by subject, for example Musicology, or Ethnomusicology. These subjects can be combined with other terms (for example, time period, genre, region, or instrument) to narrow your search.
