Lost media

This article is about lost audiovisual media. For other types of lost works, see Lost literary work and Lost artworks.

Theatrical release poster for the lost film London After Midnight; its last known copy was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire[1]

Lost media are any media that are believed to no longer exist in any format, or for which no copies can be located. The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media such as films, television and radio broadcasts, music,[2] and video games.[3][4]

Many television and radio broadcast masters, recorded onto magnetic tape, may be lost due to the industry practice of wiping. Motion picture studios also often destroyed their original nitrate film elements, as film and broadcast material was often considered ephemeral and of little historical worth after they had made their revenue. Some media considered lost may exist in studio or public archives, but may not be available due to copyright or donor restriction rules.[5] Due to the unstable nature of any format, films, tapes, phonograph records, optical discs like CDs and DVDs, and digital data stored on hard drives all naturally degrade over time, especially if not kept in correct storage conditions.

Preservation efforts attempt to avoid the loss of works; this is usually done by storing them in archives.

  1. ^ Soister, John; Nicolella, Henry; Joyce, Steve; Long, Harry (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913–1929. McFarland. p. 333. ISBN 978-0786435814.
  2. ^ Blanchet, Brenton (April 21, 2020). "The internet community unearthing lost episodes from your childhood faves". i-D. Vice Media. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Forrest, Eleanor (March 8, 2022). "Meet Raven Simone, the YouTuber who discovered the lost Mean Girls video game". NME. NME Networks. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Bell, Brendan (September 16, 2021). "Meet the YouTubers determined to find lost media". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021.
  5. ^ Hughes, William (June 18, 2022). "A 'lost,' 'too-scary' episode of Sesame Street has been uploaded to the internet". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.