IMES storage facility in Paris, France
Courtesy of IMES
Media storage and archiving company Iron Mountain Entertainment Services (IMES) opened a new facility in a Paris suburb on Thursday as it continues its global expansion.
IMES’ mission has been described as serving as a Fort Knox to protect and preserve companies’ digital and physical archival assets. His clients include studios, networks, media companies, estates, actors, musicians and athletes. Especially in the digital age, it presents itself as a partner for companies to preserve, store and digitally restore their “archival goldmine” that can be used or licensed for new purposes – from film and news footage to music videos and performances.
For example, the IMES website mentions how the documentary The Bee Gees: How you can mend a broken heart, produced by White Horse Pictures, debuts on HBO in December 2020. “The IMES team digitized and transferred historic Bee Gees videos from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, including interviews, home movies and various television performances, as well as a concert in film format,” the site advertises. “In total, the team transferred 200 videotapes to various legacy formats, 40 audiotapes, and 23 regular 8 and Super 8 film transfers.”
Or take hip-hop’s 50th anniversary this year as an example. “Digital storage is an example of how we ensure it’s here for the next 50 and that the first 50 are not only safe, but help shape the next 50, 100 and more years,” said an IMES representative THR.
Therefore, worldwide expansion to support existing and add new customers is part of the IMES strategy, which the new French storage space continues. Last year, for example, the company added three sites in the UK, citing “increasing demand” from “both new and existing customers”.
The firm said its 17th facility, in the Paris suburb of Pantin, will be its most modern location in France, “offering international media clients greater access to asset preservation services”. It includes climate-controlled media storage and private vaults, something not available at the firm’s other European sites.
“We are thrilled to open our newest media storage facility in Paris at a time when our entertainment customers are actively mining their content archives for monetization opportunities,” said Hannah Baluka, Head of Sales for IMES, France.
“For more than 20 years, we’ve trusted IMES to archive and preserve our most valuable physical assets, and this relationship has evolved to help us transform our assets from physical to digital to ensure the long-term relevance of our content for future generations of fans says Albert Selem, chief operating officer of French media conglomerate Vivendi’s pay-TV giant Canal+, one of IMES’ clients. THR. “Their innovative digitization processes ensure rapid access to content of the highest quality standard.”
IMES, for example, touts its “Smart Vault” capabilities, which allow customers to store assets digitally and access the metadata they need to mine and monetize their assets for future projects.
The company also plans to enter NFT in the future. “Over the past year, we have been exploring new NFT-centric business opportunities and are actively designing, prototyping and testing new offerings aimed at the entertainment and fine arts industries,” according to its website.