Sound archives are at the crossroad of several fields of knowledge inhuman and social sciences. The paper presents the experiences of two differentsound archives: the Phonothèque of the Maison méditerranéenne des sciences del’homme (MMSH) and Grammo-foni: Le soffitte della voce (Gra.fo), a research projectcarried out by Scuola Normale Superiore and the University of Siena. Ethical and legalissues related to dissemination, access and reuse of the recordings are the focus ofthe text. As a matter of fact, each field of knowledge has elaborated specific waysof preserving data, of dealing with sensitive information, and of disseminating therecordings, thus making it rather difficult to envisage a common strategy for webdissemination. The comparative analysis of the French and Italian experiences allowsa deep understanding of the multidisciplinarity issues arising when dealing withsound archives.