The Library of Congress presents The National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center and other contributing libraries and archives. Recordings in the Jukebox were issued on record labels now owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which has granted the Library of Congress a gratis license to stream acoustical recordings (at this time recordings made after 1928 are not available for download).
The National Jukebox is a project of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The goal of the Jukebox is to present to the widest audience possible early commercial sound recordings, offering a broad range of historical and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong learning. These selections are presented as part of the record of the past. They are historical documents which reflect the language, attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these recordings, which may contain content offensive to users.
The Jukebox includes more than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925. Jukebox content is increased regularly, with additional Victor recordings and acoustically recorded titles made by other Sony-owned U.S. labels, including Columbia, OKeh, and others.
| Browse All Recordings | Author, Category, Composer, Date, Genre, Label, Language, Lyricist, Musical Group, Original Format, Performer, Subject, Target Audience, Vocalist, and more. |
| Browse All Artists | Find recordings by music greats! |
| Genres | Blues, Classical music, Ethnic music, Humorous songs, Jazz, Monologues, dialogues, and recitations, Musical theater, Opera, Ragtime, Religious music, Speeches, Traditional/Country, Whistling, Yodeling and more. |
| Jukebox Day by Day | See what was recorded on any given day of the year (prior to 1928). Check your birthday, an anniversary, or any other month and day of interest. |
| Collection Items | Over 16,000 music recordings, from 1900 to 1925. |
| Playlist of Recordings | The National Jukebox features playlists compiled by Library of Congress curators, project partners, and guest experts. Some of the playlists are below and consist of audio selections available on the website. |
Related Resources - Links to more historical digital recordings and information
The sound recordings in the National Jukebox are originally available by permission from the rightsholders. Many of these recordings began entering the public domain on January 1, 2022, when all recordings published prior to 1923 became free to use and reuse. Recordings published between 1923 and 1946 are protected for 100 years, and recordings published between 1947 and 1956 are protected for 110 years. Some of the items in the Jukebox are currently in the public domain and free to use and reuse. You are responsible for determining whether your re-use of the items in this collection is legal. You will need written permission from the rightsholders to copy, distribute, or otherwise use copyrighted materials (i.e. music published less than 100 years ago) except as allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Some materials may be protected under international law. You may also need permission from holders of other rights, such as publicity and/or privacy rights, if you wish to reuse any music less than 100 years old.