As more of these tapes are carefully digitized (and hopefully, legally cleared), we may one day hear the hidden stems of history. Until then, the largest collection remains music’s deepest, quietest secret.
Under the leadership of Jody Klein (son of legendary manager Allen Klein), ABKCO has amassed a collection that rivals that of the Library of Congress. While Universal Music Group holds massive archive, the largest multitrack music collection ever assembled in one contiguous, climate-controlled space is widely believed to belong to this independent entity. The Largest Multitrack Music Collection Ever- -...
Analog tape from the 1970s and 80s absorbs moisture. If you play a tape that hasn't been "baked," the oxide falls off the backing, destroying the recording forever. As more of these tapes are carefully digitized
(Boyers, Pennsylvania) claims to house over 20 million assets, including the masters for Sony Music, Universal, and Warner. However, those are storage clients —they do not own the collection. ABKCO owns theirs. While Universal Music Group holds massive archive, the
Raw, high-resolution WAV files from live performances in their laboratory. These are true, unedited multitracks (raw tracks) rather than mixed stems.
The architect of this monumental archive is (though depending on recent acquisitions, similar claims are made by the Iron Mountain Entertainment Services vault and private collector Glenn Korman —but for the purpose of this deep dive, we are focusing on the largest singular coherent collection recognized by industry archivists: the ABKCO Music & Records vault ).