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Lost media is any type of media thought to no longer exist in any format, or for which no copies can be located, partial or otherwise.

The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media, such as films, television, radio broadcasts, music, and video games. Many television and radio broadcast masters, recorded onto magnetic tape, may be lost due to the industry practice of wiping. Motion picture studios also often destroyed their original nitrate film elements, as film and broadcast material was often considered ephemeral and of little historical worth after they had made their revenue. Some media considered lost may exist in studio or public archives, but may not be available to most people due to copyright or donor restriction rules, or for the most part, complete disinterest by anyone in an outdated program or subject matter. Due to the unstable nature of any format, films, tapes, phonograph records, optical discs like CDs, Blu-ray discs, and DVDs, and digital data stored on devices such as USB flash drives, SD cards, solid-state drives, and hard disk drives, all naturally degrade over time, especially if not kept in correct storage conditions. Preservation efforts attempt to avoid the loss of works; this is usually done by storing them in archives.

A large portion of silent films made in the United States are now considered lost. A 2013 report made by the United States Library of Congress estimates that 70 percent of silent films made in the United States have been completely lost.

Most lost television broadcasts are early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives or in personal archives. A majority of lost television broadcasts are lost due to deliberate destruction (such as a technique used in the early days of television called wiping) or neglect.

The Library of Congress estimates that a large portion of the earliest musical recordings, from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, have been lost. A concept related to lost music is "lostwave", a term coined on the Internet for extant recordings of music for which little to no information about its authors or origin exists.

Video games, including digital downloads, often fade from existence when digital game stores close, as demonstrated by the Wii Shop Channel, Xbox Live Arcade, V Cast Network, and the Nintendo eShop. The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS digital download games Dodge Club Party and Dodge Club Pocket were removed from Nintendo eShop in 2019 and 2022 and became publicly unavailable due to reasons beyond Nintendo's control. According to the Video Game History Foundation, 87% of American video games released before 2010 are out of print and cannot be acquired outside of the grey market or piracy. Some video game enthusiasts argue that out of respect for both the original designers and the fans of the game, video game publishers have a duty to make sure that the game remains accessible. Video game preservationists, including both organizations such as the Video Game History Foundation and hobbyists, seek to preserve video game history that would have otherwise been lost to time due to a variety of factors, such as degrading storage mediums, digital game stores closing, or the game becoming unavailable because of licensing or financial issues.

Data stored in electronic computers risks being lost if it is not frequently migrated into more recent file formats.

Media released solely to streaming services or other digital platforms without a physical release is sometimes withdrawn from further distribution, leaving no means to obtain the media outside of piracy. The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes it as "a whole new kind of lost media only going to be preserved by those individuals who did the work to make and save copies of it, often risking draconian legal liability, regardless of how the studio feels about that work".

Quick Facts

• The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media, such as films, television, radio broadcasts, music, and video games.
• Many television and radio broadcast masters, recorded onto magnetic tape, may be lost due to the industry practice of wiping.
• Some media considered lost may exist in studio or public archives, but may not be available to most people due to copyright or donor restriction rules, or for the most part, complete disinterest by anyone in an outdated program or subject matter.
• A majority of lost television broadcasts are lost due to deliberate destruction (such as a technique used in the early days of television called wiping) or neglect.
• Motion picture studios also often destroyed their original nitrate film elements, as film and broadcast material was often considered ephemeral and of little historical worth after they had made their revenue.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Lost media". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.