Contributing materials to the Jazz History Database
The Jazz History Database contains thousands of historical items that were added by hundreds of contributors over the past 15+ years. Contributors can be individuals or institutions, musicians or their family members, or anyone with jazz-related materials of historical value that meet our requirements.
Contributors can upload their digitized materials to the Jazz History Database using our automated website, or provide their physical items to us to digitize and upload. All materials that you contribute will be attributed to you and / or your institution per your preference. All materials will remain solely your property.
If you would like to upload your digitized materials directly to the Jazz History Database, you will be given special access to our ‘Contributor’ web pages that allow you to create and edit ‘Contributions’ and edit your public ‘Contributor Profile’. You will also receive notifications when your materials are reviewed, approved and made public on the Jazz History Database.
Become a Contributor:
You can become a contributor by contacting us through the form on this pageContributors can be individuals, institutions, musicians or their family members, or anyone with jazz-related materials of historical value that meet our requirements. How you can Contribute:
Able to digitize and upload your materials to the Jazz History Database?
You will be given login credentials to our website.You can create and edit ‘Contributions’ which are groups of related materials
Not able to digitize and upload your materials?
Contact the Jazz History Database team to coordinate transfer of physical materials.The Jazz History Database team will digitize and upload your items.
Your physical materials will be returned to you, unless requested otherwise. Contribute Now
Copyright Information
All media uploaded should be clear of copyright issues.
Contact us if you have any questions or would like assistance getting started.
A New Way to Teach Jazz History
Bridge music and technology through jazz history research
Hands-on opportunity for students
Interact with your regional jazz community
Engage your students with real jazz artists
Campus visits and field work
Education Quick-Start Package
Provided free for academic use
A full package of materials is available to help you get started, including: Course Syllabus, examples of academic projects, website user guides, media digitization and processing guides, copyright templates, artist permission letter templates, and much more!
The Jazz History Database is non-profit and does not charge any fees.
Is there any cost?
The Jazz History Database is non-profit and does not charge any fees.How are the materials attributed?
All materials that you contribute will be attributed to you and / or your institution per your preference.Whose property are the materials?
All materials will remain solely your property. You may edit and / or remove materials from the Jazz History Database at any time.Audio Instructions
Media types: Live performances, studio recordings, audio interviews, events, and symposiaFormats Accepted: .MP3
Recommended Bitrate: 320 kbps (128 - 320kbps is acceptable)
Recommended Channels: stereo (mono is acceptable)
Recommended Software: Audacity (Free)
Notes: Adjust volume to normal threshold, reduce noise
Images Instructions
Media types: Photographs, artwork, posters, event, and historical graphicsFormats Accepted: .JPG, .JPEG, .PNG
Recommended Image Resolution: 1200 DPI (200 – 2400 DPI is acceptable)
Recommended Software: Adobe Photoshop (Paid), GIMP (Free)
Notes: Crop and straighten images
Video Instructions
Media types: Live performances, studio recordings, audio interviews, events, and symposiaFormats Accepted: .MP4
Recommended Video Resolution: 1080p (360p – 2160p is acceptable)
Recommended Video Bitrate: 1Mbps @ 360p, 2.5Mbps @ 720p, 5Mbps @ 1080p
Recommended Audio Bitrate: 320 kbps (128 - 320kbps is acceptable)
Recommended Audio Channels: Stereo (mono is acceptable)
Recommended Software: Final Cut Pro (Paid), Adobe Premiere (Paid), iMovie (Free), Windows Movie Maker (Free)
Notes: Adjust volume to normal threshold, reduce noise
Text Instructions
Media types: Biographies, published articles, historical informationFormats Accepted: .PDF, .DOC, .DOCX, .ODF
Recommended Software: Microsoft Office (Paid), LibreOffice (Free), WPS Office (Free, with Premium edition available)
Notes: Save PDFs with embedded text through OCR (optical character recognition)
Contribute Now