A music fan from Chicago is digitizing and uploading his four-decade-long collection of live concert recordings to the internet.
Aadam Jacobs, now 59, began a hobby of recording live concerts at a 1989 Nirvana concert, where he used a tape recorder to capture the performance. Jacobs met a fellow music fan who suggested that he tape the shows, and relive the performance for free via the tapes.
As someone who attended multiple gigs every week, Jacobs thought documenting them would be a worthwhile hobby. In the early years, he faced backlash from club owners who took issue with his taping. However, he soon gained a reputation as a staple of the Chicago music scene, and many allowed the “taper guy” to enter for free.
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Jacobs’ collection spans four decades of rock, hip-hop and more
Now, after recording more than 10,000 concerts on analog tape, a group of volunteers in the U.S. and Europe are taking it upon themselves to catalogue, digitize and upload each of the tapes one by one. They are being shared to Jacobs’ eponymous Internet Archive.
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Once a month, volunteer Brian Emerick picks up near 20 boxes, each stuffed with 50 to 100 tapes, for digitization. These digital files are then sent to other volunteers who mix and master the shows for upload to the archive.
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Aadam Jacobs CollectionEmerick picks up boxes like this every month.
The music featuring in the collection varies widely. From indie rock, punk rock, alternative music, to hip-hop, rap and experimental. Artists like Phish, Sonic Youth, R.E.M, The Cure, and Pixies make up some of the archive.
For more music news, check out our coverage of Kanye West being banned from the UK, or the LiveNation CEO’s response to leaked messages about “robbing” fans.