Music
Everyone who releases music publications in Norway is required to send copies to the National Library.
The following should be deposited
- 3 copies of music releases on CD
- 2 copies of music releases on vinyl or other physical formats
- 2 copies of posters such as concert posters
- 2 copies of small prints and ephemera such as leaflets, flyers, and promotional materials
- 1 copy of digital music releases / audio files distributed over the internet
- Music videos (check the bottom of the page for more information)
Private releases should also be deposited, if the publication is publicly available, which means that it is offered for sale or is distributed beyond a closed circle.
Publications on foreign labels or companies are not subject to legal deposit. The National Library therefore wishes to purchase releases where Norwegian artists are involved. Please contact us if this applies to your releases.
The publisher is primarily responsible for the deposit, but distributors can also take on this responsibility – if so, the publisher must make an agreement with each distributor.
If your physical releases are distributed by Diger Distro or Musikkoperatørene, you can expect that they will take care of the deposit. If your digital releases are distributed by Danmark Music Group, Diger Distro, The Orchard, Playground Music, Sony Music Norway, Universal Music Norge, Virgin Music Group or Warner Music Norway, you can expect that they will deposit your releases to the National Library.
The Norwegian National Discography (Nordisko) contains information about music released in Norway and releases by Norwegian performers/composers abroad. Currently, it mostly covers releases dated after 1990.
What should be deposited?
In principle, two copies should be deposited. One master copy with its corresponding audio, and a user copy, for example DCP.
The user copy may come in various formats due to delivery to broadcasters, internet providers, and music distributors. Therefore, it is possible to submit only the master copy in a 1:1 duplicate size if a user copy has not been produced.
If music videos and concert recordings are released on DVD or Blu-ray, they are considered video releases. See guidelines under Film and Moving Images.
Who should make the deposit?
The publisher/producer is responsible for the deposit.
Copies can also be provided by post-production companies, in consultation with the publisher/producer.
Form and quality
‘Master copy’ means the fully edited, mastered film in the best quality, with complete audio. Production and technical metadata should also be included.
A copy of the master must not undergo additional compression, packing, or data reduction in any other way. The file format should be deposited in open and standardized formats, as long as the production equipment and software used in the film’s production support it. Preferably, this should be submitted in the file format:
- Prores 4444
- DNxHR 444
- Prores HQ
- DNxHR HQ/X
- DNxHD 220/x
- MPEG-4 / H.264 (with a minimum bitrate of 1500 kbps)
- MPEG-2 (minimum bitrate of 50 Mbps, and only I-frame encoded)
The master copy and the user copy should be deposited on a USB drive, hard drive, via FTP, or file-sharing service. Or we can send you an upload link.