RAAAD is a take on the code used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). When CDs were first being sold, the RIAA created a labeling system to mark which albums were truly 100% digitally recorded, or if they involved any type of analog (A) signal path before being transferred to a digital (D) format. For instance, an album recorded in the '70s but released on CD in the '90s may be labeled as AAD, meaning that the final remaster was meant for distribution on digital CD. This system was abandoned as DAW recording became popular and CD releases were eclipsed by digital files. This made RIAA and others assume that most albums would be recorded in all-digital DDD as an industry standard. However, we are in the midst of an unpredictable "rebirth" of analog formats which seems to only grow by the year! This site is meant to catalog all analog releases made with a 100% analog "AAA" signal path. See rules for additional info:
There are a few reasons:
Though documentation of recording exists for some albums, there is not a central source that archives knowledge of every analog album ever created. RAAAD seeks to change that, by preserving information about the recording process of albums beyond simple information about their release. This includes ALL factors such as gear used during recording, and any analog consumer formats that are released.
Analog formats have surged in popularity in recent years. Despite this, many analog releases have not been made with an end-to-end analog signal path, making their existence useless beyond simple novelty. This is especially an issue within the vinyl community that is polluted by records made with encoded digital files that are converted to analog "grooves" and pressed. These low-quality records have NO IMPROVEMENT in sonic quality over a digital FLAC file.
Though vinyl pressings are generally well-documented on other sites, many albums have a history of being released on other analog formats that don't have consistent documentation. For example: Did you know that the album "Songs in the Key of Life" by Stevie Wonder had a release on 1/4" reel-to-reel? Many people don't since it's not well documented and was only available for a short amount of time.
Many bootleg tapes (often from a recorded digital file or vinyl record) of albums exist, and various forums are plagued with questions of whether a recording is legitimate. This is a large problem among Cassette collectors. RAAAD seeks to store information regarding EVERY end-to-end analog album and the formats which it is released on legitimately.
There has been an increasing amount of artists going "DAWless" leading many to record their releases on analog formats. If you're an artist or engineer who records and releases albums...