Desiderata for Music Information Retrieval


  1. access to all of the world's music: every sound recording, every score and manuscript, every film or video clip, every piece of music-related information

  2. access via any indexing method: by culture, by artist, by content, by social and psychological affect, by association or allusion, etc.

  3. a system that provides appropriate reimbursement to all who have contributed, without favoritism to particular countries, languages, companies, or individuals

  4. an open system to which anyone might contribute and from which anyone might benefit

  5. a system that is self-correcting, and provides ways to assess and characterize the reliability and accuracy of the information

  6. a system that respects and ensures privacy and eschews cultural insensitivity
    (e.g. ethical considerations in Native American songs)