OMMA Criteria and Introduction to the Catalogue Raisonné
The Origins of Modern Music Archive (OMMA) Catalogue Raisonné provides a detailed, evidence-based examination of the earliest commercially issued release of artists whose work later shaped the musical world. While a traditional catalogue raisonné documents the complete works of a single artist, OMMA applies catalogue raisonné standards to the domain of debut releases, typically first-press.
OMMA’s standards for inclusion are strict. Beloved artists who have sold millions may not reach the criteria the Archive has set. In addition, the Archive may lack some difficult to find essentials. OMMA continues to actively seek out the debut releases that have influenced generations.
Many artists represented in OMMA began on small, regional, independent, or self-issued labels before achieving lasting prominence. These holdings, designated Core A, preserve the rare origin artifacts of genre-shaping artists who had humble starts.
OMMA’s Core B holdings document a limited set of civilizationally defining artists whose earliest commercial records are historically indispensable, even when those debut artifacts were distributed at large scale by major labels, like Bob Dylan, whose debut on Columbia records was pressed multiple times. These artists are of such surpassing importance that any archive of debut records would be incomplete without them.
For both Core A and Core B, the baseline requirement is that a holding correspond to the verifiable earliest commercially issued record available to the public, including under verified precursor names (for example, The Primettes released one single before quickly changing their names to The Supremes). Each entry documents the accession as a verifiable first pressing / earliest state for the edition being catalogued, demonstrated through physical identifiers (e.g., runout/matrix inscriptions, label typography, sleeve/packaging state, inserts, and related manufacturing indicators), supported by release chronology and archival references.
Catalogue Raisonné
Core A criteria
Scarce by Threshold: The qualifying first-state commercial variant is estimated or documented at ≤5,000 copies (with a curatorial preference for ≤3,000).
Canonized in Retrospect: The artist meets the Archive’s canonization standard (commercial, institutional, and/or genre-defining), as defined in this Introduction.
Core B criteria
Civilizational Significance: OMMA can document that the artist produced a fundamental shift in the history of recorded music, for example by creating or influencing a major genre or movement, creating a clear “before and after” moment in musical history.
Canonized in Retrospect: Sustained canonization supported by multiple reinforcing indicators (e.g., sales in the 100s of millions, Hall of Fame induction, considered a generationally pivotal musical figure).
Scarcity Waiver: the Archive explicitly waives the ≤5,000-copy threshold for Core B accessions. Meanwhile Core B is formally capped (by number of artists or percentage of holdings) to prevent category drift and preserve the Archive’s curatorial thesis.
Canonical Origin Editions and Proxy Editions
Where the Canonical Origin Edition of a debut event is unobtainable or materially unsuitable for exhibition or interpretation, ROSA may accession an early Permitted Proxy Edition (e.g., a first major-territory issue or a first sleeve-state of curatorial importance), provided the origin edition is identified, the proxy role is explicitly labeled, and variant evidence is documented to the same standard.
A representative example is Bob Marley’s first single, Judge Not / Do You Still Love Me? The Jamaican issue on Beverley’s Records issue is dated circa 1962–1963, with a UK Island Records issue dated 1963. In such a case, a verified first UK issue may serve as a proxy edition where an acceptable Jamaican origin copy is unobtainable, with the origin edition identified and the proxy status disclosed.
Catalogue Raisonné