IEC TR 63020, “Digital sheet music – Market, use cases, and related technologies,” has just been released. This new technical report discusses the “state of the art” with regards to digital sheet music, including MusicXML. You’ll find a complete review of currently available technology in this arena as well as a discussion of the benefits that standardization can bring to this particular area of interest. The discussion of the use case suggests the benefits and improvements that digital sheet music standards can provide.
This is an interesting look into the challenges that digital transformation offers to a niche industry. Since world-wide revenues for sheet music must be estimated, the report references a IBISworld projection of approximately $500 M to $700 M. The report then posits that the industry could grow by using the latest technologies. Benefits could be gained during composition and arranging, distribution, and sales. Details are included. IEC TR 63020 also compares conventional (paper) publishing with a digitized process.
The technical report then reviews the technologies required for a digital transformation of the industry. It explains mark-up, including SMR (Symbolic Music Representation), MEI (the Music Encoding Initative), SMDL (Standard Music Description Language) and others. It also reviews basic metadata schemes used for music. Musical font and font layout are covered. And attention is given to digital rights management, annotation, and issues of display. The 8-item bibliography includes information and weblinks for additional documentation.
With this review, the technical report is able to draw conclusions about the effect of all these disparate systems currently in the marketplace. It offers a path forward for further development of a unified process for this segment of the music industry.
If you’re involved in the music industry and the use of technology, particularly digital transformation, you’ll want to get a copy of this new technical report. It will help you understand the current state of affairs and the challenges that arise with the use of multiple solutions for this size market. And of course, you’ll want to get your copy from an authorized IEC distributor like Document Center Inc.
You can search for and order all IEC standards at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Here is a direct link to the order page for IEC TR 63020. It can be purchased as a paper format publication or for pdf download. Cloud access for your company can be arranged with the use of our Standards Online subscription service. Check in with our staff for more information. They can be reached by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com).
Document Center Inc. has been selling standards for over 30 years from our Silicon Valley headquarters and we’ve been on the web since 1993. We have years of experience with both compliance and technology issues and we’re here to give you a helping hand. Make us your Standards Experts!
