You've heard it right. There is currently a musical piece developed and composed by Jem Finer called "Longplayer," which is scheduled to keep playing for 1,000 years.

The piece began playing at midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again. Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it was originally produced as an Artangel commission, and is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust.

"Longplayer" can be heard in the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since it began. It can also be heard at several other listening posts around the world, and globally via a live stream on the Internet.

"Longplayer" is composed for singing bowls — an ancient type of standing bell — which can be played by both humans and machines, and whose resonances can be very accurately reproduced in recorded form. It is designed to be adaptable to unforeseeable changes in its technological and social environments, and to endure in the longterm as a self-sustaining institution.

At present, "Longplayer" is being performed mostly by computers. However, it was created with a full awareness of the inevitable obsolescence of this technology, and is not in itself bound to the computer or any other technological form.

Although the computer is a cheap and accurate device on which "Longplayer" can play, it is important — in order to legislate for its survival — that a medium outside the digital realm be found. To this end, one objective from the earliest stages of its development has been to research alternative methods of performance, including mechanical, non-electrical and human-operated versions.

Among these is a graphic score for six players and 234 singing bowls. The first performance based on this score took place more than 1,000 minutes on Sept. 12–12, 2009, at the Roundhouse, London. "Longplayer Live" is performed on a vast, specially-constructed instrument by an orchestra of players working in shifts. A series of further performances are in planning for various venues around the world — see the Live page for more information.

That's right, so on Jan. 1, 3000, you will be able to download this rich harmonious track on your future iTunes/Spotify!