Doom Soundtrack Added to National Recording Registry
The annual registry adds 25 recordings, including two gaming soundtracks and Taylor Swift’s 1989, to preserve culturally important audio.
- The USA's Library of Congress added the iconic 1993 Doom soundtrack to the National Recording Registry, answering the perennial question "Can it run Doom?" with official recognition.
- Selection requires recordings to be at least ten years old and "culturally, historically or aesthetically important," with the Registry choosing 25 annually, Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen said.
- Joining the Doom soundtrack in the archive are Taylor Swift's 2014 album 1989, Beyoncé's 2008 hit Single Ladies, and Weezer's 1994 debut The Blue Album, with the original Broadway cast recording of Chicago also selected.
- Composer Bobby Prince used MIDI frequencies to ensure sound effects cut through the music, making Doom only the third gaming soundtrack ever added to the Registry, following Super Mario Bros. in 2023 and Minecraft in 2025.
- To craft the soundtrack, Prince drew inspiration from CDs loaned by Doom designer John Romero, including seminal works by Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Metallica, which the LOC asserts helped "lay the foundation for future generations of game composers.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Doom's 1993 soundtrack inducted into the Library of Congress
While the United States Congress can't seem to find its ass with both hands of late, the United States Library of Congress has a bead on what's vital to the American people: the soundtrack to the video game Doom has been inducted into its collection. — Read the rest The post Doom's 1993 soundtrack inducted into the Library of Congress appeared first on Boing Boing.
Doom soundtrack added to National Recording Registry
The perennial question "Can it run Doom?" has a new answer, of sorts, after the USA's Library of Congress (LOC) added the iconic game's soundtrack to its National Recording Registry. An announcement of this year's new additions to the Registry hails Bobby Prince's 1993 soundtrack as "the perfect riff-shredding accompaniment for the game's demon-slaying journey to hell and back." "Key to Doom's popularity was the adrenaline-fueled soundtrack crea…
Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry Names Class of 2026
Washington, DC (May 18, 2026)—This year’s additions to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress have been announced and include albums by Taylor Swift, the Go-Go’s and, by popular demand, Weezer. Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen named 25 recordings as “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according…
Doom Soundtrack Added to Library of Congress
In 2003 the National Recording Registry began collecting various “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.” Any recorded content is up for preservervation and inductees range from whole albums to singles, to podcast and radio broadcasts. 2026 inducts the Doom Soundtrack! This is only the third time video game audio has made the cut, bu…
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