I was alarmed to read in the MMD for 05.06.10 that Mastertouch (Sydney)
is allegedly closing its doors on June 30, 2005.  However, I'm not sure
this is true.  I'm a member of a support group for Mastertouch, called
Music Roll Australia (MRA).  The group has some 500 members and was set
up in 1985 to not only support Mastertouch, but to eventually form it
into a working museum.

MRA had its annual general meeting on May 21, 2005, where some
bloodletting occurred.  That is, those running MRA (called the "Board")
were not re-elected.  Instead, a new board was elected.  Most of the new
board members either currently work for, or used to work for,
Mastertouch.  I know many of these people, and can assure you that
despite the fact that the building is on the market, there is a lot
going on behind the scenes.  As well, the previous board members are
still in communication with the new, and together are making many plans.

The old board members had put into motion their plan to form Mastertouch
into a working museum, and I suspect this will still be the eventual aim
of both the new and old board members.  This structure means that
Mastertouch can accept government grants, bequests, sponsors, and so on.

As for dispersing the roll-cutting equipment to private ownership, I can
only hope this does not occur.  This is the Mastertouch heritage, and
you can be assured that MRA will fight to prevent the Mastertouch
collection being sold off to the public.

The crunch will come when the building that currently houses Mastertouch
is sold.  If the new owners want vacant possession, MRA will need not
only to find new premises, but also move the Mastertouch equipment to
the new building.  This will cost a huge amount.  While a daunting
prospect, there are a lot of people working to keep Mastertouch together
in some form or another.

So don't give up on Mastertouch just yet.  And likewise, don't expect a
fire sale of the roll cutting equipment.  It effectively belongs to
Australia, not to any individual, and hopefully that is how it will
continue.

Peter Phillips
Australia