The full catalogue of music by The Beatles is to be stored in a bomb-proof doomsday vault for 1000 years. The idea is to test out ‘future proof’ digital technology, i.e. digital recordings of music that don’t decay over time – and The Beatles aren’t the only ones getting the star treatment with aboriginal musicians’ music also being placed in the vault. The music was chosen in collaboration by Elire Management Group, which are the company behind the vault, and the International Music Council to select the music that is the most loved and precious. In the future, the public will be able to vote on what music is placed inside the vault and will be able to listen to the archives of protected music – but the copyright holder will have to give permission for the music to be stored there. Elire also plans to charge the artists and labels who want to use the vault.

The vault will protect from both nuclear and natural disasters, similarly to the gene banks, and will be placed on an island near the north pole. Speaking about the vault, Elire Management Group has said that it will be “built to withstand the kind of extreme electromagnetic pulses that could result from a nuclear explosion, which could permanently damage electronic equipment and play havoc with digital files”. This is similar in nature to the gene banks, which exist to protect sources of food that could help the human race feed itself in the future. 

While the gene banks are about protecting the future of humanity, this new doomsday vault is about protecting our past and our heritage for future generations to enjoy; the president of the IMC says: “This is about safeguarding the future of music in having these archives of the past.”

The music is due to enter the vault in spring 2022.