SFSMA was established in 2014 with the goal of digitizing and sharing music for the silent cinema (c.1895-1930) for research and performance use. The archive includes sheet music for film, cue sheets, instruction manuals for film accompanists, and a bibliography of resources on silent film sound and music. All of the silent film music archived here is available to download for free. It can be used for scholarship and research, lectures, to accompany showings of silent films, as the basis for the creation of new scores for old or new movies, and a myriad of other projects calling for music from the silent era.

Researchers and performers should be aware that some pieces and cue sheets archived here contain negative stereotypes and racist and misogynist language.