CELEBRATING OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY!
A Brief History of Sound Recording: Fully Incomplete and Highly Biased
The new book from Museum of Portable Sound Press is both a gallery guide and a standalone history of audio recording!
•2015–2025•
OUR MUSEUM
Our visitors make an appointment – with us and themselves – to listen!
(Visit online or meet us in person – alone or in a group!)
SPECIAL FEATURES
Why do cassettes make an “unexpected comeback” every year? Find out in our investigative report!
Listen to alphabets from around the world–and contribute your own!
Our sounds are organised by topic – the same way other museums exhibit visual objects.
OUR COLLECTIONS
Browse hundreds of Physical Objects!
Find hundreds of references!
Watch dozens of videos about sound!
ONLINE EXHIBITIONS
Visit our in-depth look back at a time when political corruption still had consequences!
Learn the history of how we created Soundscape™ Barbie® – and how the world reacted!
Experience the chaos when the Internet caused the collapse of the music business!
EDUCATION
We offer classes & workshops, organise conferences, and publish writing about sound.
What our visitors say:
‘Interrogates what museums are with an inventive curatorial approach and presents its artefacts with a sense of fun often absent in sound art.’
—The Wire Magazine
‘An amazing project – magical.’
—Judith Clark
‘A thing of beauty!’
—Londonist.com
‘I’ve never thought about sound in this way before!’
—First Year Student, Bournemouth Film School
‘*****, would go back’
—Seth Cluett
‘Plays with sound as media and media as sound…investigates the many facets of a young and quickly evolving culture of sound and listening.’
—Reviews in Digital Humanities
Our Director was awarded a PhD from University of the Arts London for the thesis he wrote about his creation of this museum, Listening to Museums: Sounds as Objects of Culture and Curatorial Care.
Latest News
A Brief History of Sound Recording book now available
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A Brief History of Sound Recording: Fully Incomplete and Highly Biasedby Dr John Kannenberg Imprint: Museum of Portable Sound PressOn sale: 27 November 2025Price: £30.00Pages: 124ISBN: 9798347413720 CONTACT:Johnjohn[at]museumofportablesound.com “A true labour of love and well worth your time.” —Wallpaper* Magazine, December 2025 Ten years in the making, this unconventional history of audio…
Museum of Portable Sound Marks Its First Decade Of Operation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PORTSMOUTH, UK, 11 November: The Museum of Portable Sound (MOPS) today commemorates the tenth anniversary of its first public event, its Grand Opening Gala which took place at 6:30pm at the London College of Communication, Elephant & Castle, London. The capacity crowd in attendance witnessed a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Professor…
Wallpaper* Magazine Reviews ‘A Brief History of Sound Recording’
Wallpaper* Magazine has published a review of our forthcoming book, A Brief History of Sound Recording: Fully Incomplete and Highly Biased, in a new listicle entitled “14 of the best new books for music buffs.” “The book is a true labour of love and well worth your time.” – Wallpaper* Magazine The entire review reads:…
We bring the culture & history of sound beyond music to the world, one listener at a time.
Who We Are
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The Museum of Portable Sound is a member of these professional organisations:
The Museum of Portable Sound 