# RadioGOLDINdex (J. David Goldin Discography)

Official URL: https://radiogoldindex.com  
Category: Discographical / Script Index · Operator: J. David Goldin (Golden Age of Radio / UMKC Marr Partner) · Founded: 1998  
Benchmark Card: https://www.radiologs.org/data/providers/radiogoldindex.md · JSON: https://www.radiologs.org/data/providers/radiogoldindex.json

## Summary

Compiled over 40+ years by former CBS/NBC engineer J. David Goldin from his personal collection of 95,000+ 16-inch transcription discs and tapes. One of the most authoritative discographical text references in radio history, **but hosts zero audio files** and uses a static 1990s frame-based HTML layout.

## Pricing & Access Regime

- **Model:** free ($0 Web ($50+ PDF Books))
- **Monthly / Annual USD:** $0/mo · $0/yr
- **Billing Note:** Free web reference lookup; multi-volume PDF/print editions sold separately.
- **Free Tier / Access Note:** Full online text lookup of ~100,000 broadcast entries.

## Catalog & Technical Metrics (Audited 2026-11-01)

- **Playable Broadcasts:** 0
- **Catalog Broadcast Records:** 102,000
- **Distinct Series:** 2,400
- **Full-Length WebVTT (.vtt) Subtitles:** 0
- **Date Span:** 1925–1978
- **Online Streamable Share:** 0%
- **Median / Max Bitrate:** 0 kbps / 0 kbps
- **Audio Formats:** None (Text Discography Only)
- **1 Item / Episode (IA + Stremio SDK UUID):** No

## Features (14 Audited Capabilities)

**Yes (6/14):** 100% Free Catalog ($0/mo), Instant Play (No Account Login), Zero Mid-Roll or Display Ads, Primary Newspaper & Trade Log Scans, Per-Episode Actor ↔ Character Graph, Sequential Multi-Part Serial Arcs

**No (8/14):** Public Recording UUID / RID Index, SHA-256 Audio Stream Deduplication, Schema.org RadioEpisode JSON-LD, Per-Series Podcast RSS Feeds, Public JSON API & /llms.txt, 100% Full-Length .vtt Subtitles, Original Studio Broadcast Scripts, 16" ET Disc / Lossless FLAC Streams

## Verified Specification Evidence

- **16" ET Disc / Lossless FLAC Streams:** Text-only discography (0 playable audio streams hosted online).
## Provenance & Archival Methodology

- **Primary Master Source:** Direct physical inspection of 95,000+ 16" ET discs and master tapes in the J. David Goldin Collection (now at UMKC Marr)
- **Air Date Methodology:** Transcribed directly from physical studio transcription disc labels, matrix etchings, and audition logs
- **Cast Attribution Method:** Exhaustive actor, announcer, director, writer, and musician credits verified by ear and disc label
- **Caption / Subtitle Engine:** None (Metadata index only)

## Capability Scores & Quoted Evidence

- **primary_source_verification** (verified, score 96/100): Dates, networks, sponsors, and AFRS/matrix numbers are transcribed directly from physical 16" transcription disc labels.
  - Evidence: "Every entry in RadioGOLDINdex reflects a recording physically auditioned and cataloged by J. David Goldin from disc labels and audio."
- **cast_credit_accuracy** (verified, score 92/100): Unmatched documentation of supporting character actors, announcers, organists, and writers per broadcast.
  - Evidence: "Cross-indexes tens of thousands of supporting actors, announcers, musical directors, and writers across 100,000+ broadcasts."
- **vtt_transcripts** (none, score 0/100): Text discography only; contains concise 1-sentence loglines, not spoken transcripts.
  - Evidence: "Provides a brief one-line plot & sponsor note per broadcast; no full-text scripts or .vtt captions."
- **master_provenance** (verified, score 95/100): Documents exact transcription service ( syndicated Ziv, Lang-Worth, World, NBC Orthacoustic, AFRS) and disc numbers.
  - Evidence: "Lists transcription syndicate, sustaining vs. sponsored status, and physical Goldin catalog numbers."
- **serial_continuity** (verified, score 88/100): Chronological series listings clearly trace sequential episode numbers and audition pressings.
  - Evidence: "Ordered strictly by broadcast date and episode/matrix sequence within each program page."
- **open_api_export** (none, score 15/100): Static 1990s HTML pages (`f1.html`, `f2.html`) with no JSON API, no search endpoint, and no `/llms.txt`.
  - Evidence: "Generated as static alphabetical HTML files from a legacy desktop database with no REST API."
- **ad_free_playback** (none, score 0/100): Cannot stream or play audio — text-only reference index.
  - Evidence: "RadioGOLDINdex is a text reference database only; it does not stream or sell audio recordings."
- **dedup_integrity** (verified, score 94/100): Clearly separates original network broadcasts from AFRS re-uses and syndicated re-titles.
  - Evidence: "Explicitly notes when an AFRS or syndicated pressing reuses an earlier network broadcast."

## Limitations, Trade-Offs & Gotchas

- **[CRITICAL] Zero Audio Playback or Downloads (0% Streamable):** RadioGOLDINdex is strictly a discographical text encyclopedia. Users looking to actually listen to the broadcasts must cross-reference them on RadioIndex or visit UMKC Marr.
- **[WARNING] Static Alphabetical HTML Frames Without Query Engine:** Cannot run compound queries (e.g., 'all CBS broadcasts from October 1948 featuring William Conrad') without downloading and parsing thousands of static HTML files.

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*Audited by [radio logs](https://www.radiologs.org/) — Built by [The Archive of American Radio (radioindex.org)](https://www.radioindex.org/). Held to the same primary-evidence audit rules across all 22 platforms.*