Galaxies of Music aims to develop an integrated and distributed information system in order to provide:

• Digital archival of the musical content and the accompanying audiovisual material (musical documents/scores, audio/video documentary, photographs/images, musical instruments, statuettes and other objects) using contemporary database technologies within a distributed framework 
• Metadata descriptions of the digital content 
• Enhanced search and metadata/semantic/knowledge-based retrieval capabilities (ontology-based search, semantic web) 
• Innovative user front-ends for data browsing, based on 3D technologies and smart database indexing, as well as virtual exhibitions and museums on the Internet 
• eCommerce capabilities 
• Copyrights management and material watermarking

The name of the project “Galaxies of Music” is inspired by an idea of using the metaphor of the physical universe to visualize a musical collection. The galaxies in this universe represent a grouping of significant importance for the collection, which could (for example) represent a genre classification.
The project addresses needs for new ways of museum/collection promotion within a distributed [data management and processing] framework.
The project consists of several components and it involves various levels of research and development. Specifically, the following tasks can be identified: 

• Digitization of audio signals
• 2D digitization of photographic/video material
• Copyrights management and watermarking
• eCommerce applications
• Distributed database technologies (XML-based)
• Audio signal processing/analysis/feature extraction
• MPEG7/Dublin Core metadata descriptions
• XML data descriptions and XML database querying
  • “Smart” data indexing
• Content-based retrieval
• 3D digitization (instruments, statuettes, scores??, …)
  • Possible feature extraction for content-based search/retrieval
• 3D visualization
  • Innovative user interfaces for data access and management
  • Virtual showrooms and virtual exhibitions on the Web

• Distributed database technologies (XML-based) 
• XML data descriptions and XML database querying ( “Smart” data indexing) 
• Copyrights management and watermarking 
• Digitization of audio signals 
• Audio signal processing/analysis/feature extraction 
• MPEG7/Dublin Core metadata descriptions 
• Content-based retrieval 
• 2D digitization of photographic/video material (Possible feature extraction for content-based search/retrieval) 
• 3D digitization (instruments, statuettes, scores??, …) (Possible feature extraction for content-based search/retrieval) 
• 3D visualization (Innovative user interfaces for data access and management, Virtual showrooms and virtual exhibitions on the Web) 
• eCommerce applications
  

• Archives/collections/museums related with musical content:
• musical recordings 
• musical documents/scores 
• audiovisual material 
• photographs/images 
• other accompanying material of cultural importance (statuettes, instruments, other objects)
• Technology partners with expertise in: 
• Distributed database technologies (XML-based) 
• XML data descriptions and XML database querying (“Smart” data indexing) 
• Copyrights management and watermarking 
• Digitization of audio signals 
• Audio signal processing/analysis/feature extraction 
• MPEG7/Dublin Core metadata descriptions 
• Content-based retrieval 
• 2D digitization of photographic/video material (Possible feature extraction for content-based search/retrieval) 
• 3D digitization (instruments, statuettes, scores??, …) (Possible feature extraction for content-based search/retrieval) 
• 3D visualization (Innovative user interfaces for data access and management, Virtual showrooms and virtual exhibitions on the Web) 
• eCommerce applications