Even with the mainstream shift to all-digital recording in the mid-1980s, a significant portion of music history remains on analog tape. This began in 1945 with the German invention of magnetic tape, ushering in the third wave of audio recording: the Magnetic Era. Now, original recordings from the mid-40s to the 70s are in danger of being lost forever due to unique degradation that afflicts magnetic tape. But there’s a man in New Jersey who managed to crack the code of salvaging and restoring these old recordings.

That would be Kelly Pribble, an archivist, engineer, and audio-preservation wizard who works for the information-storage company Iron Mountain. Artists, record labels, and estates use Iron Mountain to preserve and restore their physical media. Past clients include The Grammy Mus

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