History of the Record Industry, 1877-1920’s
https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1877-1920s-48deacb4c4c3
Course Readings: History of Recorded Music | Fall 2019
Course blog for Dr. Stan Renard's Fall 2019 History of Recorded Music course at UT San Antonio.
I really loved hearing the history of the record industry and their sound playback devices. However, what was most interesting to me was record companies Victor, Edison, and Columbia all failed to see their impending downfall and take steps to avoid it. With each company suing the other over things such as whether they can use a cylinder or flat disk for sound production or press music on both sides of a disk, in the long run, they were not advancing to the next big thing: radio. As a result, Edison eventually faded out of existence and both Victor and Columbia were bought up by RCA and CBS respectively.
Hi Samuel,
Please include a link to illustrate your argument.
Best,
SR
My evidence:
https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1920-1950s-6d491d7cb606
The reproduction of sound through materalistic devices have progressed over more than a hundred years in time, from being a davice you have to physically circulate to something just as small as the press of a button. The article wasent a great fit for a disagreement or an agreement, but it allocates information from the past up into the present that allows the reader to see that the people who were apart of the history of the recorded music industry worked hard so that the enjoyment of music would forever live on. Due to the popularity of this “record industry” it became almost a must do for the record company industries to raise prices so that the artist could nmake money and videos while releasing more tracks.
https://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news/companies/napster_music_industry/
The article that i have attached above represents the point of music changing rapidly, the way we listen, and/or produce our music. Who we sell it to and how we sell it, also it provides what happens when sells go down because nobody is buying anything anymore.
I believe that Alexander Grand Bell and Samuel Morse were vital parts in the foundation of the record industry. The Invention of Bell’s Telephone captured voices, but Morse’s Telegraph captured sound. These two elements opened the door for the Music Industry to create a new form of recorded music of both a chorus and the voices of many singers. Though both Bell and Morse did not directly accomplish recording and producing a song, their discoveries were very vital steps for the Music Industry.
Please check out this link I’ve posted on ‘Brief History of Recording’ https://charm.rhul.ac.uk/history/p20_4_1.html
Bell and Morse’s discoveries were definitely vital to the Music Industry, but so were those of Edison. Without Edison’s accidental discovery of sound reproduction, later inventors would not have furthered his strides during the birth of the film industry. I would also argue that Bell, Morse, and Edison’s discoveries were vital to not only the Music Industry, but also to film, radio, and more. Without them, we would not be where we are today in any media outlet.
This article is a great way to briefly learn the history behind recorded music. Although, I wish it would’ve had more info on the 1920s era, because that is when the radio became popular and we still use that today. People only had to buy the radio, and didn’t have to pay for the music. With this being said, the radio boomed, and the record player dropped. Not only did they have to pay for the record player, they also had to pay for the record itself. The radio also had a huge effect on the economy. It got people through their rough times during the depression, and it brought advertising into the picture. Now there is commercials being introduced, and that’s where the free music comes into play.
Check out this link for how radios effected the economy in the 20s!
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-was-impact-radio-economy-311620
It’s amazing how far our technology has come since the beginning of recorded history! One of my favorite discoveries from this article would be that it happened as early as the 1200s! This man, Friar Roger Bacon was also the inventor of the magnifying glass and several other ideas, the fact that he invented so much is amazing to me and ultimately started the whole move towards recording voices. I found out this information on a separate article that you should check out,
https://crazy-mystery.blogspot.com/2013/06/roger-bacon-1214-1294-inventor.html
Reading the article was indeed interesting since it had a lot of information I didn’t know beforehand. Such as the invention of the gramophone by Emile Berliner and the Phonograph by Thomis Edison. The gramophone was not only first for recording on flat disks, but it opened the gates to mass productions of records. On the contrary, the phonograph was the first ever to be able to reproduce recorded sound and play it back. While both inventions had it’s challenges and competition between one another, they both contributed greatly to the advancement of recording music– especially the chance on being able to have your own personal copy of a song, or any type of recording really.
Here is a link that compares both inventions with it’s pros and cons as well as more background information on how each invention was created and their history.
http://www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/25/Phonograph-vs-gramophone/
The devices that produce music have gone through major changes since their introductions to the general public. While sound recording was the major focus during the beginning of the music industry, plenty of innovations, such as the phonograph and the radio, catapulted the world of music to brand new heights. The sounds that came from musical devices became clearer and the mediums themselves were much easier to store. In addition to that, the revenue generated by companies such as The Victor Red Seals grew as millions of records were being sold all the time. Though the music industry today is largely reliant on streaming services, it owes a lot of its success to the great minds of the preceding generations.
Below is a link detailing how the music industry has changed mediums over time and how it will continue to change in the future.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-evolution-of-the-musi_b_11109130?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFAbN-_PuTuE6L6xo8Qcy4fIdbqMQAgCg3YZgSw3WLXMrt9I0pk1SZwrHfZqbAhmV061T9w-ETG9S29ybd9KfkdWoTDbNG5-ESp53cuTLQj2Xeuf_Q8IZWt3OdG1U8JCe344B6adNhlygwMmcSKnlUer5feLIh4DbtYBG1VjRecK
It’s crazy to see how far music recordings had come in such a short period of 43 years. One thing that caught my attention was the transformation from music boxes, to the phonograph, then something more familiar to us which is vinyl and record players. I also think it’s interesting how recorded music went from something that was dedicated to the upper-class then transcended into something affordable and practical for everyone. It made me think that the overall goal of music recording was to make it widely available and also cheap for the masses. It was once solely bought by the upper-class only because the materials and the craftsmanship were expensive and time-consuming for the times. Now you can get millions of songs for the cost of what it was to buy about 3 records back in the day.
https://hbr.org/2016/12/how-streaming-is-changing-music-again
This is an article I found detailing how streaming has changed from the times of Napster to what we have now such as Apple Music and Spotify. I really like this article because it was written in 2016 and this was an early account of what was going on with the future of streaming. The article talks about how the goal for the streaming services was to get the prices cheaper. The article really relates to how the progression of the reproduction of sound and how owning or being able to obtain sound has become apart of our everyday culture.
It’s crazy to me how slow these things started out. Like the harmonic telegraphs, I mean they had to send several Morse code signals just to get one note out. Initially, it would take forever. It’s really fascinating to see how far we’ve come since the very beginning of all of this when these people barely even knew what they were doing and some of them were working on it at the same time! To me, the idea that several people across the world had some of the same ideas and were trying to invent basically the same thing is so cool. Something else that I caught as interesting was how people were going to have to send voicemails. I mean you would have to record yourself on this cylinder and then actually mail the cylinder to someone else who had a graphophone.
https://wi101.wisc.edu/graphophone/
I found this article that goes deeper into the graphophone and its’ creators.
I loved looking into the past of how records came to be and their development into the worldwide phenomenon that they would become; but more than that I loved the insight that this article gives into what would later become known as the production-oriented era. The production-oriented era was the time roughly at the beginning of the 20th century to the 1950’s and was called this because at the time marketing and business was driven by the basic idea that as long as the product being produced by a company worked well and was durable, the product would sell itself. This is further elaborated upon in this article
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-marketing/chapter/evolution-of-the-marketing-orientation/
We as a society of course moved past this method of conducting business into a more consumer based market obviously, but it’s interesting to note how companies, like Thomas Edison’s own record company, failed to recognize how the market would shift and demand more from where they were buying from.
When we look at the evolution of recorded music, a lot of the inventions came from mistakes. My favourite mistake, per se, was Edison discovering that he could record his voice on a paper strip after he pricked his finger and swore! Recorded music has come a long way and without multiple people around the world having the same kind of idea and feeding off of one another, I personally believe that the music means we have today would not be as evolved. On another note, the music box might not have been the most vital instrument in the creation of records but it certainly contributed. It’s funny to think that a small little box, only affordable to the rich, helped spread music and even made it accessible to the penniless. I have no doubt that with the ever evolution of technology, there are new and better music devices awaiting us.
https://koolvip.com/what-comes-after-streaming-the-next-phase-of-music/
This article is quite interesting as it explains what is next step for the music industry.
The invention of the phonautograph was one of the most important inventions that contributed to music. Music today is just isolated voices and sounds, which was a concept not yet thought of until the phonautograph created b yEdouard-Leon Scott de Martinville in 1857. This invention changed the way we consume music today. You didn’t have to be at a live show anymore to enjoy the pleasures of music with the creation of the phonautograph.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/phonograph-changed-music-forever-180957677/
Yes Brendy Cortez, would have to agree with you on the facts that this creation of technology made it more practical and obtainable to listen to some great tracks. But at the same time it changed the idea behind live performances, in a sense that it isn’t a long awaited date on a calendar- because this is one of the handful times you will get to experience something like this in your life time. Instead you can hear it while doing your school work so that the noises from the outside do not distract you, or in other cases when you’re bored. In addition, people no longer enjoy experiencing the real thing because it doesn’t sound as good as the recorded track that has been engineered to sound very close to perfection. Again, it was a very bright improvement but it for ever changed the way we think of music.
…..Here is a link to further expand on my argument: https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/why-playing-in-the-studio-is-different-from-playing-live–audio-2166
I find it so amazing how the recording of music was not just thought of by itself, but the telephone technology influenced and inspired more technology to be created. Alexander Graham Bell influenced other innovators and inventors to create new things that shaped the modern era. The link I have included illustrates how Graham Bell was inspired to make one of the most important devices known to man.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell
The article can inform one about the history of music and how one invention can influence an inventor. I say this because while reading the article one can recognize how different inventions can influence inventors to create bigger and better ideas for society. From the start of the article, it begins with the creation of the phonautograph. Through the phonautograph inventors such as Alexander Bell could create something that would change society for the better. Bell designed the telegraph which, inspired many to produce and surpass the invention. This then influenced innovators such as Thomas Edison because of his greediness of wanting to design something bigger and better than the telegraph. While he was trying to construct something related to the telegraph, he made a great mistake and discovered sound reproduction. The start of the discovery of the phonautograph provided a base for music to be discovered and helped pave a way for inventors like Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison to construct devices inspiring multiple inventors to do the same.
https://www.ge.com/reports/before-the-grammys-how-thomas-edison-started-the-music-industry/
This link provides additional information of how Edison was influenced by the telegraph.
Before the invention of the phonograph, people only knew music through live performances. One invention led to an astounding series of innovations toward the music industry allowing the listeners to go from hearing music only through a live performer, to streaming a song on a device with a single touch. The evolution within the recording industry has been at a constant increase as far as innovation is concerned, I personally found the different ways music was recorded to be the most intriguing. Linked here is a video about how music was recorded before magnetic tape. As sessions were being recorded live, grooves would be etched in onto the record, therefore, if a mistake was made the artist had to completely resart.
https://teachrock.org/lesson/moving-faster-than-the-imagination-the-evolution-of-sound-recording/
One of the cool facts that I found out from the article was how many of the key events that lead to new inventions and innovations were from accidents like Edison pricking his finger, cursing, and then finding out how to record music. I believe that one of the most significant points is that the Edison company dropped the recorded music business by 1929 as continual improvement could have seen the cylinder improve and maybe pass the disk in quality. This is a link with more information on the Edison record company ie. how successful it was and its inevitable change into disks.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-edison-disc-phonograph/
I really enjoyed reading this article and learning more about how music got started. It was amazing to see how far we’ve come with all our ways of listening and streaming music, considering we started with the phonautograph, which merely played a sound. I found it very interesting how many advancements in music were created by mistakes and competition, such as Thomas Edison cursing and discovering sound reproduction, and then him creating the phonograph, fueled by his jealousy of Alexander Graham Bell’s famous invention of the telephone. It was also interesting to see that their successes could’ve continued for longer, if they had put aside their stubbornness and saw how the music industry was changing, and adapted their ideas to it. There are many parallels between then and now, such as Automatic Phonograph Parlours where people could listen to some selections of music for free, but they contained an ad, similar to music streaming apps now, where people can listen to any music, but there are many ads as well.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph/
I believe the beauty from the recording industry and just about any industry comes from taking what you have and making it better, or building upon the basic foundations of the original creation. By using the origins of the music box, (bumps or pegs), and applying it to a broaden picture of tin, then wax, then flat disc, etc., companies like Edison, Columbia, and Victor were able to create the foundation of the music industry which many of us hold closely to our hearts today. These early inventors such as Edison and the Bell’s, took concepts from the phonautograph, telegraph, telephone, and phonograph, and expanded/ pieced them together over and over again to create something better from the latter in doing so building the recording industry which would eventually change to vinyl, to CD, and most currently electric streaming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKJqeJ48CPs
This youtube video describes the history of film, and very similarly to recordings it expresses building off of the original concept until what is desired is created.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this article was how music boxes assisted in the evolution of recorded music by inspiring the inventors of records. Though usually thought of today as old knick-knacks that only play lullabies to aid in lulling children to sleep, music boxes are intricately complex machines that are more similar to later inventions for recording music like records. When broken down into their most basic fundamentals, the music box and record player share many similarities such as a rotating piece with the musical information on it, and a tool of some sort that assisted in translating that information into the music we hear. The following link delves deeper into the history of music boxes and even shares the location of “the world’s largest music box” which is powered by a treadmill of sorts so visitors can create the music melody with their own bodies.
https://www.mclerranjournal.com/technology-1/2017/6/4/a-short-history-of-the-music-box
After reading this article I have learned a lot of interesting information about the history of music, but there’s one thing that caught my attention. I still am astonished that there is evidence of recordings being stretching as far back as the 1200’s. The fact that Friar Roger Bacon was able to get even a few words recorded that long ago is simply amazing. It took about 600 years for others to figure out how to record music, therefore, Friar Roger Bacon was way ahead of his time. I’m very curious about what he could have accomplished if he was around in the 1800’s, but all we can do is wonder. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roger-Bacon
It is amazing to see the history of recorded music follow a pattern of recording formats being replaced by a newer and better one without most seeing it coming. From the beginning of the early works of Edison to the eventual conversion of streaming music, people underestimate and reject new ways of listening to and distributing music to the masses. Edison attempted suing others who used his format only to be left behind until making the switch to a better format. Similarly, Taylor Swift has notoriously publicly stated her dissatisfaction with streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music but has recently decided to release her latest album on streaming services and physical copies on the same day. According to the history of recorded music time will tell when streaming music is surpassed by a newer format that is initially rejected by artists.
https://www.economist.com/prospero/2019/08/28/what-taylor-swifts-pivot-to-streaming-reveals-about-the-music-industry
This article’s actually peaked my interest regarding certain things. More or less, the interest on how these things work. Basically, just off the first couple paragraphs when they began to explain how things such as telegraphs, telephones, graphophones, and phonographs, work and what went into making them work. For example, us as humans developed a tool that projects music, movies, video games, etc on to TV’s, radios, computers and so on. And all of that, is simply off of a CD disc. So, it made me start asking questions about how deep this stuff actually goes. Like, on how to make other things work in todays society like bluetooth, even streaming. This whole thought process started with me trying to break down how phonograph cylinders work. I still don’t have the answer I want, only because I still have to do the research. But this is why I like articles like this, to help me start thinking.
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question287.htm
The article did a great job on illustrating the evolution of sound recording but I wish they went into depth about the ornate music boxes created in the early 1800’s. I say this because it helped inspire inventions that helped lead to the creations we use today when recording and/or listening to music. The music box was one of the first things that was able to translate information into sound. The music boxes has cylinders that projects sound which led to the creation of the disc. Multiple parts of the music box are inspirations to the newer and better inventions all through the 1900’s. Learning more about how it was created and how they were able to come up with the idea to use the two cylinders to be able to produce music would have helped me understand the thinking process and method to the madness.
https://www.mclerranjournal.com/technology-1/2017/6/4/a-short-history-of-the-music-box
After reading this article, it is clear that the phonograph and the graphophone had a major social impact on society as a whole. These inventions brought music into homes and made listening to music more than a social gathering. They made it possible to have more people listening to music than in any previous time in history, which not only had an impact on the listeners, but also on the musicians themselves.
http://www.scienceofrock.com/social-impact-of-the-phonograph
After reading this article, I was astounded by all the devices people used to record music and how even in the early 1200s there was proof of sound recordings. The fact that the phonograph was invented by the mid-1800s shows how all the scientists were truly trying to create a solid format for recording sounds. Though there was some competition about who built certain devices and who could actually make the best one. An example would be when a french scientist made a full functioning phonograph but all the credit went to Edison due to his smart marketing strategies. Below I attached a video link showing how Thomas Edison’s phonograph invention worked and played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EniFuLrPyFk
I founded very interesting how the article detailed not only the creation of the phonograph, but also the expansion of the forms of communication, such as the telegraph. It is impressive to see how people could be mesmerized by something that we take for granted today, like speaking on the phone or listening music in the radio. When it comes to music in the radio, it comes to show how companies find ways to take advantage of current trends and interests from the public, and use those to make profits. Here is a link to history on how music choice was selected on the radio.
https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/jeburns/musicchoice.html
While there is not much to be argued about from this chapter, it is interesting to read and understand the growth and development of communication and recording over the course of only a century. While it was a quick and rapid progression of recorded music, I believe had Edison and co. not been too stubborn to change how they produced and recorded music, the invention and development of new ways to record music would have been much faster, and we may be further ahead today (if only by a little bit). After doing my own research, I found that Thomas Edison was possibly the biggest hindrance to music, records, and the advancement of sound as a whole, as he would constantly use his power and money as a businessman to disable his competition, and sue other companies for doing anything remotely similar to what he had invented. While I understand he did a lot in the way of progress for sound, communication, light, etc. he also decided to electrocute an elephant to death in front of a crowd of people to prove a point and ALLEGEDLY murdered/had somebody killed.
https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/03/09/when-thomas-edison-electrocuted-an-elephant/
http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2017/03/29/was-thomas-edison-a-murderer-the-mysterious-disappearance-of-a-film-pioneer/
Some of this may be a stretch/theory, but I thought it would be/is interesting.
My initial thought after reading this article was that is interesting to see how far music has progressed. It is important to keep in mind how world events also shaped how music advanced throughout the years. When inventors were trying to make their breakthroughs, they were sometimes met with the hardships that they had to work through to achieve their goals. It is fascinating to see how music was first played through a music box that had a cylinder that turned and had raised bumps that would roll against a piece of metal and make sounds. After that invention we see that Edison discovered sound reproduction. We eventually progressed from early sound technologies to form records which was difficult in itself.
Attached below is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmL3inc301Y
Reading about how a record (Victor Red Seals) cost $1 in 1903 and the same record costing $7 in 1942 doesn’t seem like much today. Using an inflation calculator, $1= $29.29 and $7=$109.07. I also thought it was interesting how technology is always rapidly progressing. I found a timeline that illustrates the piece read.
Inflation Calculator: https://westegg.com/inflation/
Timeline: https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-plan/tools-and-resources/history/timeline/
The article did a phenomenal job explaining the history of recorded music. In an era where music such as opera or orchestra, the people would gather at massive theaters to hear lovely tunes. With the invention of the phonograph composers and so on brought the music to the people in the comfort of their own homes. It was a revolutionary invention, if it was not for that, we wouldn’t have CD players or radios.
Although the evolution of music production may have intervals, it remains everchanging and in progression, always giving people new ways to listen or create. Similar to
I was very surprised to see mention of advertising alongside music as early as the 1890’s. Seeing that phonograph parlors had “free” selections of music with brief spoken ads at the beginning or end reminded me of modern day YouTube videos. I was so surprised by this that I read more about the history of advertising in the link below only to have it dawn on me that the entire culture people have towards advertisements has shifted from a willingness to sit through ads for “free” stuff to a willingness to pay monthly fees (such as YouTube Red/Spotify Premium) to stay far away from them.
https://www.tintup.com/blog/history-evolution-advertising-marketing/
It seems almost inconceivable the process that we went through to get to where we are now. Throughout the article I kept trying to imagine what these portable record players and furniture like pieces looked like. I thought it was interesting and appropriate that these were sold in furniture and piano stores, since these inventions were big and bulky. I also imagined how much further would they have gotten if the Great Depression hadn’t occurred when it did.
I left a link to the wrap around Edison’s cylinder box to see his “frowning face” and patents. Apparently you can purchase it for $1.00!
https://www.phonographs.org/product/m-278-cylinder-box-label-edison-gold-moulded/
Reading through this article thoroughly, there were many instances of advanced ingenuity that caught my eye. I saw what could possibly be the prototypes and/or first generational models of modern inventions, such as the phonograph with a mouth piece for the experience of hearing music inside your head. Think about that for a second, what could that possibly sound like; the first instance of a headphone-like device meant for personal listening. Another great example of this is, the portable phonograph acting as a precursor to a modern iPod or mp3 device. Aside from models of technology, I was also caught off guard by the sheer egotistical nature of such a prominent figure in Thomas Edison, which in my opinion was the reason for the downfall of Edison records. The civil battle between the patent of double sided recorded stunned me as well, yet in foresight I would say that the public domain suite amounted to nothing. From the humbled beginning, musical device have yet to stop evolving and someday we may come to the peek of performance in the realm of sound recording.
Also if you would like to read more about the beginning of the phonograph and Thomas Edison’s contribution to the industry itself, https://www.thoughtco.com/invention-of-the-phonograph-4156528 there you go.
While each section of the article is well said and discusses the history of each invention and its creator in detail, it would be very interesting for the authors input as to where he/she sees the music industry going next. It is evident that one invention inspires the next, and that each invention has its shining moment then the spotlight searches for a new creation. This is shown when the author discusses the creation of Victrola’s music discs, inspired by Edison’s cylinders. Since we are now to the point of listening to music for free, what is the next creation? Will artists continue to stay with big companies and teams, or become an independent artist? If there must be another small evolution in music history, what will change?
In the blog post “What Will the Music Business Look Like in 2020?”, the author brings up “DIY musicians” under points three and four. The writer believes that since music is now streaming for free, many technology companies are realizing the potential for programs on their devices to be music related, which will allow independent artists to grow. These programs (seen in apple product packages etc.), make the artist the inventor, and will allow for many more independent artists to rise. Will the invention of music programs on devices take down big music companies such as how Victrola overpowered Edison?
This article did an effective job of explaining the history of recorded music. I found the evolution of recorded music to be fascinating. Seeing the progression of sound from as early as the 1200s to present day shows how technology has been enhanced. Although there was no actual evidence that music boxes would be able to record sound, inventors would still utilize them and continued with their ideas in order to work towards modern day technology. It is interesting to see how multiple individuals were able to work in different spaces in order to create different ways of recording sound in order to progress technology. Acquiring information of how music and sound in general was developed in the past is interesting but, it is also amusing and thought-provoking to question what the future may hold. Below is a link to a projection of technology for recorded music in the future.
https://www.cnet.com/news/what-will-recorded-music-sound-like-in-2050/
This article was really interesting and did a fantastic job of giving a detailed timeline of how music has been recorded and put onto multiple mediums. Consumers were able to play the music that they liked at home and take their music with them portably as well. As time went on, not only was the actual way of listening to music improved but the sound quality as well. I would have liked for the article to explain how exactly the records were made and produced. I provided this video on the record making process in case anyone else was interested in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaz15u7cJLQ
Although there isn’t much in this article to really spark an argument about. I found it very interesting that Berliner Gramophone was still able to produce so many records through a time of recession and still make a profit. It was nearly impossible for them to meet the demands of what people wanted due to the technology at the time. Through those hards times, he continued to grow and was a huge factor in recording music being the first to make a disk not made of wax but of rubber. Which is what later drove us to vinyl.
In this article, you will find how the company advanced the creation of vinyl disk into what we now have today. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_852763
I really found “the threat of radio” section really interesting. I wish that it had elaborated more on the improvements of the radio from different scientific discoveries. For example, when Nikola tesla constructed the wardenclyfee tower which helped the advanced the transition of signals wirelessly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_radio
I found this article quite fascinating due to how far recorded music has become through the 1800s to the 1900s. The rapid progression of this technology excites me on what could be done in the future as how they could even progress from streaming music. The part of the article that caught my eye was the threat of the radio. So many record companies tried to prevent their records from playing, but little did they know the growth of the radio would expand to even something bigger like we see today.
I found an article if you’re interested in looking more into depth on the progression of the radio!
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/radio.html
I thought the article was captivating. I read about the origins of how music became so accessible to us. We don’t really think about how we listen to music because it’s right there at our fingertips. I’ve always found it fascinating how we could invent devices to allow human voices to reach far distances and essentially get so much recorded music for free. I read another article which gives more insight to the history of music as we know it. Like this article, it also describes how the 1920s brought radio and records together, and how styles like Jazz and the Blues came to be. Many musicians became influential icons during this time. I find it fascinating because during this time dancing, jazz, and singing became a large piece of American culture that everyone enjoyed. These pieces of technology are the foundation of Pandora and YouTube music. These creations dominated their decades and paved the way for one of the most important aspects of our culture.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/20smusic.html
I thought it was interesting to learn how recording music came to be. First we heard music through cylinders which then advanced to the form of a disc. As time went on we began to appreciate our advancement in the production of music. From records to streaming platforms, you can hear a major difference in the sound quality. Watch the video in the link provided to get a better visual on how the phonograph and gramophone was manufactured. In this video you can also notice how far we’ve come in improving our sound quality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3s1JJO3LF8
After reading this article, it was very interesting to me to see how the birth of commercial radios became such a tremendous threat to record companies. The reason why I found this to be interesting is that the same thing has happened in the 21st century with the creation of streaming music through various applications like Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Music. For instance, in the 20th century, commercial radios threaten record companies financially by providing a free way to listen to music. Similarly, in the present time, streaming platforms have created the same common threat as we have witnessed in the past by hurting record companies/labels financially. The reason for this is, technological advances in recording music have allowed artists an easier and less cost-efficient way of releasing their music through streaming platforms. For example, an artist can now release their music through streaming platforms by simply having a Wi-Fi connection and some sort of recording device instead of having to go to a record label to produce their music. Furthermore, streaming platforms have allowed unsigned artists to receive a bigger percentage of the revenue than those who have been signed by record labels. With that being said, through technological innovations in recording music, streaming platforms have threatened record companies financially by allowing a less cost-efficient way of releasing music.
If you would like you can read more about how streaming platforms have fincially threaten record companies you can check out this link: https://www.redandblack.com/opinion/opinion-streaming-music-platforms-financially-threaten-music-artists/article_c49e25f0-5681-11e9-b9d7-63fbfd671747.html
I thought that the article explained the beginnings and history of recorded music extremely well. I was especially intrigued by how far back the evidence of recorded music went, specifically when Friar Roger Bacon and his time period were mentioned. Today, many of us are so unaware of how truly far along recorded music has progressed and how history would be absolutely different without these important inventions. I mean, how did we get from music boxes using cylinders/disks to play out sound to tapping a song on a cellular device and listening to it without cables? In this website, it can be explained how the two top competitors of their respective eras eventually led to one of the most important creations (and landmarks) in human history — the phonograph.
http://www.soundrecordinghistory.net/history-of-sound-recording/phonograph-history/
I was particularly taken by two points in this article; the first being that early music recordings were limited to only the loudest and clearest instruments for the best quality of sound. This meant, of course, that the majority of recordings were of big bands, bombastic or pure vocals, and monophonic tunes. Such technological favorability always leads to a focus in market demand, and this is shown very well in the early 20th century, which is known for its brass and loud vocals (such as gospel and choir groups). The other point I found interesting was that from the beginning of broadcast radio, advertisements were used to provide charge-free transmissions of both music and comedy bits to large audiences, effectively charging people’s attention or time instead of their pocket money. This practice apparently even bled into use for telephone calls, where listening to periodic ads replaced the need for charge-based public communication lines. This trend shows that from the very beginning of transmitted entertainment, big businesses have played a key role in influencing the disemination of popular music and humor.
On the point of how the medium by which sound is recorded changes both what kind of music we record and the way we relate to the recordings I suggest this source as an essential guide to how evolving mediums have changed how we make, hear, buy, sell, store, remember, recommend, exchange, reproduce, remix, or even destroy music:
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=r_p_Q6TUrQoC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=how+technology+affects+music&ots=pXCCcwSIrF&sig=z6y9s9IP-xuahxXcieWbVHFZSR4#v=onepage&q=how%20technology%20affects%20music&f=false
In this article we learn about the evolution of records, music, and the birth of communication. One thing that stood out to me from the reading was the invention of the Phonograph by Thomas Edison. Which was accidentally created while he was working on two other inventions. With this device everything seemingly changed for the record industry. People were now allowed to listen to a recording and re-play it which was far more technologically advanced than any other device at that time. For example, American soldiers would use phonographs during World War l to relax and essentially help give the feeling of being home.
Below is a link describing the history of Edisons invention more in-depth and how things would turn out for his record company.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph/
The article given was very infromative and interesting; but the fact that Thomas Edison could single handedly have been the inventor for all of the audible technologies as we know it blows my mind. In addition, I believe that if it wasn’t for clever minds creating Automatic Phonograph Parlours, music would not have been as relevant as it is today. The ability of having multiple recordings at the finger tips sparked a new interest to the younger generations.
…..Here is a link of an article that expands on the reasoning of this argument: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/phonograph-changed-music-forever-180957677/
I never realized how much change the sound recording industry had gone through and this article puts it into perspective. One of the things that the article mentions and that I found interesting was that Edison accidentally discovered sound reproduction. Because of this accidental discovery, so much more pieces of technology evolved and were created. One of the things this article doesn’t mention is the music streaming services. It would have been interesting to see a perspective on that. We went from the phonogram, CDs, Vinyl players to the radio and now evolving fully into music streaming services. We no longer need to own vinyl players or CD players because everything is now in our phones and it is exciting to think about what will come after spotify or apple music.
The article in the blog talked about the history of the record industry and I found this other article that put the music streaming services into perspective. The reason why I found it interesting is because music streaming services is probably the most common form of listening gto music to date.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/07/28/205873218/paying-the-piper-criticism-of-music-streaming-services-in-perspective
I do tend to agree with most of the other comments regarding the rise and fall of certain media in response to the growing availability and clearer quality of newer inventions. What I found interesting was that it it’s infancy, in the 1890’s the only records or songs available were for the “lowest common denominator.” Thus, only people that were able to afford such luxuries (owning a phonograph or having disposable income that could be spent at a Automatic Phonograph Parlour) were catered to by the record companies by only producing records that this specific subset of people would want to listen to. I mention this because African Americans at the time did not fit into this demographic. Race records were made specifically for the African American consumer but due to segregation and racial tensions white Americans did not readily listen to them. Since there was little overlap white artists and bands were able to steal songs and coin them as their own such as The Original Dixieland Jass Band did with Joe Jordan’s song “Teasing’ Rag” despite it being written 8 years prior to their recording. Joe Jordan sued due to the blatant stealing of his song and won which still is an issue today with artists sampling other artists songs and not giving credit where credit is due.
I found it very fascinating that John Philip Sousa’s brass marching band was able to become popular because their records were truly loud and could be better heard on record players. He was one of the first to sell a great deal of marching band sheet music in the late 1890s and I have personally played some of his pieces in my time throughout middle school and high school band. So this just shows how influential he was and still is. He isn’t called the “March King” for nothing.
https://biography.yourdictionary.com/john-philip-sousa
This article explained the process of how recorded sound came to be and how other inventors would use somebody else invention to improve or create another invention. Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, which combined the idea of the phonautograph and the telephone. There was a lot of trial and error when it came to sound recording. For example, when Edison first released the phonographs, he used tin foil, but it would deteriorate with use. Later, Alexander Bell Graham invented the telephone and replaced the tin foil cylinder on Edison’s phonograph with a wax cylinder. Edison and Graham have a significant influence on modern technology today, such as CD’s and recorder players.
https://blog.electrohome.com/history-of-the-phonograph/
This article was very interesting in regards to the similarities between inventors such as Edison patenting their inventions to ensure that others don’t reproduce their mechanisms and the plight of African American influenced music. In the article it mentioned that records for the phonograph were produced to appeal to the “lowest common denominator.” Phonographs and other recorded music at the time was directed towards the only people that could afford it (white, middle class Americans). There were deep racial divides as far as culture and music went with most whites never hearing blues, jazz, and soul played by the original artist or band with race records being produced and distributed for African American consumption in the event they were even able to afford it. With little to no cross over in the segregation of musical styles, it made it possible for white artists to in essence steal songs by African American artists with consumers being none the wiser. The all white Original Dixieland Jass Band did this with Joe Jordan’s “Teasing’ Rag,” but he sued and won. Since the beginning of recording there has been a power struggle to ensure the original artist or inventor is given due credit. This is noted even in present times with large bands such as Metallica coming out against streaming platforms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_record
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Jordan_(musician)
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallicas-lars-ulrich-weve-embraced-all-the-music-streaming-options-out-there/
This article gives great detail on how radios and frequencies evolved over the years as well as human interaction. when Edison invented the Phonograh, the device did not sound appealing to most people and was not very popular from the start. Although the quality of the Phonograph was not very great at the time, it inspired others to invent more improved devices over time. As technology grew, different uses for the devices evolved making it better to enjoy listening to music, news, ect….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/27101804
What I thought was most interesting about this article is that the early inventors of sound recording and music playing devices knew that whoever could design the most efffecient and affordable device would not only make money, but would also change the entertainment industry completely. As these early inventors designed better and better devices, listening to music became more affordable and therefore extremely popular among the masses. They had no idea that they were creating an entire new section of the entertainment industry and were forwarding art as a whole. If it wasn’t for the invention of an affordable record and record player, the music industry would have never exploded the way it did.
This article was very interesting. While reading the article, there was a paragraph that really caught my attention. Some things I have never heard before like the phonograph that comes with a mouthpiece that you would attach to your teeth so that the music plays in your head. Another one was the records pressed on very hard chocolate that you would eat after they wore out. Throughout the time line it talks about the initial technology and purpose of the evolution of the sound recording industry. Edison’s creativeness and Alexander Graham Bell’s innovation were two very crucial things in the history of technology. All the years studying and perfecting ways to record sounds, and later on music, were definitely worth it once the technology was more widely available for other people besides the upper classes. Being able to record audio is insanely important in todays culture because most of the forms of entertainment we use nowadays such as movies, t.v. shows, and music, are fundamental to who we are as a society.
It is amazing to me that even in the 1890s, advertising played a role in music. These “Automatic Phonograph Parlors” appear to parallel a primitive streaming service, and utilize the concept of ‘frustrating the listener into buying the product’. While streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube generate revenue by implementing advertisements, a second, more reliable source of revenue comes from paid subscription services. Automatic Phonograph Parlors use the same principles for making a profit. Adding advertisements at the beginning or end of the free recordings created that ‘frustrating factor’. There wasn’t a ‘skip ad’ button in the 1890s, instead you would simply pay a fee for each song. This fee can be compared to the ‘premium’ feature that today’s streaming services now offer.
Click this link to learn more about the advertising in streaming services
https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/youtube-music-streaming-service-strategy/
What stuck out to me was the prominent place Thomas Edison held in the early history of recorded music. I, like many others, generally consider Edison when recalling the invention of the light bulb and the role he played in employing electricity for interior and exterior commercial luminescence. But I didn’t know that he was also a part of sound-recording history, possibly because of his stubbornness concerning the use of cylinders rather than discs, and, later on down the line, the insistence of using vertical grooves in the discs rather than horizontal like the competitors. I read more about his involvement in that industry here:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-edison-disc-phonograph/
I found this article to be a really interesting overview of the birth of recorded sound. Something that I found personally interesting (as an avid vinyl record collector) was how durable and long lasting Victor phonographs were made to be. There is even a section of the article that states “To this day, you can get a perfectly functional portable Victor from the 1920s for about $150. They were really built to last!” I didn’t necessarily believe this statement at first since the Victors from this era are around 100 years old but after some research I found this statement to be true.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scarce-1920s-RCA-0-12-side-crank-portable-Victrola-record-player-/192174122343
I find it so interesting that technology in the music industry has come so far in such a short time period. I also found it really funny how Edison always regretted not inventing the telephone himself. I wonder how enjoyable the Automatic Phonograph Parlours from 1890’s were. It seems like a very timely and expensive thing to do just to listen to some music.
The link I’ve added has more information about the history if Phonographs as I found this concept very interesting.
http://soundbeat.org/2013/01/28/phonograph-history-2/
With the evolution of the record industry comes the growth of music as a whole. I believe that new inventions in the record industry tie into the popularity of specific genres of music. For instance, when the example of barbershop quartets and brass bands are presented as being famous in the early 1900s, I believe it’s because they were the only music that could be played on listening devices. This correlation between the recording industry and music genres is only further proven when you analyze the popular genres of each decade and what devices were bought. Jumping to the 1960’s we see the increase of rock and roll, a blend of R&B and country, with the production and sales of amps and cassette tapes increasing. Moving to the 1970s, we saw the rise of rap culture and beat-mixing as turntables were released and the birth of auto-tune in the 90’s causing an increase in pop culture. Ultimately, the music industry as a whole evolves and upgrades itself as the sub-industries work in tandem to give society the music they want to listen to.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/24-inventions-that-changed-music-16471/phonograph-1877-222487/
What I found most interesting about the article was a specific paragraph about Automatic Phonograph Parlours. Not only was it cool to know a place like this even existed but it also made me realize that comedians and musicians have always been important in sound recording history. I read an article of how musicians are now competing with podcasters for platform space. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cheriehu/2017/03/14/why-the-music-industry-is-finally-taking-podcasts-seriously/#7c65ee083135
This article is a great reading of the history behind recorded music. The article would’ve been perfect if it was surrounded around the era of the 1920s, because that is when the radio became popular and is in use till this day. Radios were free, but record players along with the single records weren’t. The radio had a huge effect on the economy during the great depression and got people through rough times. It also brought advertising into the picture and now there is commercials being introduced, with the “free music”.
http://www.nab.org/documents/newsroom/pdfs/062011_economic_analysis.pdf
After reading this article, I have become really amazed with how music recordings all started. I find it funny how the radio initialized the same outcome as digital music did in modern time. This just goes to show that history repeats itself one way or another. Technology will have its advantages but it will bring some disadvantages to others in the process. Even though it may not be as profitable in terms of music sales, it makes it easier to get the artist’s name out to the masses.
https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/the-long-history-of-music-piracy/
The beginnings of recorded music was a product of multiple attempts and numerous failings amongst inventors. In my opinion I’d argue Edison and graham were the most important precedents to what would come to be innovations like the record player and vinyl. It was also particularly interesting to hear about how many discoveries were accidental ones, such as Edison hearing his faint curse word played back on his repeated device. Further into the music timeline introduces the world to more methods of listening to music, and eventually to where we’re at today with online streaming services, but I believe that the cassette tape was the biggest step forward to what we have now due to the convenience and portability of it and it eventually led to playlists, mixes, and even CDs
More information on the cassette tape in relation to the music industry can be found in this article at https://vibrations.ca/fr/record-collecting/columns-by-lvs/item/89-how-the-compact-cassette-changed-the-music-business
The article was very interesting, especially reading about the radio in the 1920’s. Radio really did have an immense impacted on the culture and especially the economy in the roaring twenties. The fact is that radio was a much cheaper alternative than the phonograph. This meant that lower income families that couldn’t afford to listen to much or no music at all before the radio, could now enjoy the culture of music from their homes as well. The sales of the radio really can’t be understated, as it’s growth in sales was tremendous through out the years. These sales meant a lot of manufacturing jobs were created and also caught the eyes of advertisers. Advertising to the masses was really innovated with the creation of the radio, allowing businesses to reach people from all over in a quick and effective manner. This caused even more products to be purchased which fueled the economy.
https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-history-of-the-radio-industry-in-the-united-states-to-1940/
This Website goes into more details about the history of the radio, but also 3 tables showing the growth in numbers of sales of radio equipment, advertising expenditures, and the number of radio stations in the US.
The thing I find the most interesting in the article is how everything else that was happening in world was effecting the music industry, The Roaring 20’s allowed 2 different formats to stay around (cylinder and disc) because of the economic boom. With the Great Depression record sales went down and those companies that were thriving in the 20 were bought out or faded into obscurity. A detail I find interesting is most of the inventions were made by Americans(or at least credited with). I dug a bit and found another article that continues on the history and it covers the Great Depression more and the rise of Big Bands, Radio Jockeys, and the general evolution of the radio. a thing I found out is that Jazz became popular on records because other instruments like piano and guitar were hard to pick up on early records but the big brass were easier to pick up.
https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/the-big-band-era-and-the-economics-of-jazz-1797ba0543b7
Technology was really a game changer in the evolution of music over the course of time. In a way, I understand why so many bands and music labels where worried about the rise of radio stations, but hey as a fan point of view it really is a benefit for their career and for fans to enjoy new music. Throughout the course of time technology has brought us many top of the notch concepts and devices we never imagined being created, but we shall not forget the great advancement the music recording industry has had. Honestly this article is awesome but it in reality it is a small stanza in the big transition and development that has happened for music. There is still many more concepts to learn about and many more people and companies who gave it their all to try to revolutionize the recording of music. Even with the futuristic devices that we have today that let us record and listen to music, this article is a great look back to our humble beginnings and the appreciation for our music, and the funny part is we might still have a long way ahead of us for the future of music recording. In the link below I found out a bit more on how phonographs were a nod in the right direction for record players.
https://homerecordingpro.com/history-recorded-music/
Very interesting read! One big thing i found fascinating was the many parallels between early music recordings and present. One big point of contempt that is still prevalent is “streaming” music. The early record labels found that the radio, who streamed free music for all to hear, was a threat to their wellbeing. This is still a huge problem today as the internet brought new ways to stream music that benefited record labels in no way. Also I found fascinating how frequent advances in music consumption changed just as quickly as is does now (about every decade).
I found this article very interesting, because i don’t know too much about the music industry and how it changed over time or the tools they used through the time period. The one thing that gave me interest in reading the article was the way they captured sounds and how they focused on sound production, they used different music tools to capture sounds and they also compared the Phonograph and Gramophone together to see which one sounded better. Im pretty sure Phonographs sounded better because in the article there was a sentence saying that phonographs and records were sold in furniture stores, and you should know something thats sold in the furniture store is something that productive and everyone loves it.
Here’s a link to show the comparison between a Phonograph and Gramophone:
https://youtu.be/7o3ZcDl34hQ
I found it very interesting that the invention of the telephone and telegraph helped with new inventions to record music like the phonograph and the graphophone; these inventions made music more accessible to the public and, not just the rich who could afford to by music boxes. After the invention of the radio most record labels thought it would hurt the business, but they actually started selling record players and radios in a set, bringing business to both groups. With the new way to record music, Jazz music became more popular; being the first genre to be only sold on records. The genre of jazz was created by African-Americans after reconstitution ended in New Orleans, but the first Jazz band signed by a record company was original dixieland, which was an all white jazz band; leaving African American Artist left out of the genre they created
https://morningsidereview.org/essay/black-rhythm-white-power/
It was really interesting to learn more about John Philip Sousa more from this article. It was also interesting to learn that the more clear audio of his recordings is on a acoustic phonograph. He was one of the first members of ASCAP, which was the American Society of composer, authors and publishers. This organization protected the rights of composers, and also provided grants to composers. John Philip Sousa was a very influential composer.
https://www.britannica.com/art/helicon
The article on music recording had a small mention of how Edison used pitch on morse code. This pitched morse code made a new invention called harmonic morse, or “Acoustic Telegraph”. In order for the telephone and music recordings to ever have been a thing the technique of acoustic telegraphy came first. It is interesting to see how morse code was slowly turning into a way to record.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_telegraphy
This article was very interesting. In most hisroy classes even when menttioning creations like the different generes of music, they don’t go into detail about the development of mucis players. I also find it interesting that Jazz was once named Jazz.
https://www.wbgo.org/post/where-did-jazz-word-come-follow-trail-clues-deep-dive-lewis-porter#stream/0
I believe Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville played a bigger role in the origin of playing back record sounds. He invented the phonautograph in 1853 or 1854 and never actually intended for his invention to be able to play back sound. For years Scott worked on improving his idea of translating words/scripture into sounds. He made two models that succeeded his original model. In 1857 he mad the Flatbed Phonautograph which embodied a form of natural stenography. In 1859 Scott teamed up with a very precise builder Rudolph Koenig to create a Cylinder Phonautograph, or an improved model of Scott’s original Phoanutograph. When looking back on the history of recorded music I feel sometimes Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and his contributions are overlooked.
Check out this link on information about Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and his inventions involving the Phonautograph.
https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=5525939&id=5AD6D664-1DD8-B71B-0B795A35B23AB3C1
I found it so compelling how quick technology in the music industry has evolved in such little time. What I really enjoyed about this article is that they really went into detail on how the way to hear music happened and how very few people thought it was impossible to hear human voices on machines but, then soon enough scientist Leon Scott de Martinville changed the game when he came out with the invention of the Phonautograph. This invention revolutionized how we understand and enjoy modern music.
Enjoy this article about how listening to music has changed over the years! https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/27101804
This article was interesting to read because it elaborates so much on how the different company’s that produced records, cylinders and other forms of listening to music either evolved what they produced or stayed the same (Edison) over time. When the great depression hit America it affected all industries including the music industry. Record sales dropped down to 6 million compared to the 140 million in the previous decade, causing the different labels to either disappear or be bought by larger companies. While Roosevelt was president the sales of records increased as the economy improved and the public frequented establishments that had juke boxes.
http://www.jazzstandards.com/history/history-3.htm
The phonograph undoubtedly influenced society greatly. As years went by the phonograph found its place to be a culturally important innovation. It is also interesting to see the motivation many inventors had to perfect the phonograph. One inventor that is quite amusing is Edison. He would “improve” the phonograph, but not to fit the desires of the consumer. He stubbornly stuck with manufacturing cylinders which were harder to store, broke easily, and had shorter play time. The public preferred the disc format due to the storage capabilities as well as play time than that of cylinders. Although cylinders had better sound quality due to constant surface speed and improvements were made for longer play time, the larger public could not be convinced to buy the cylinder format.
The link has more specifics on the models Edison made as well as more historical information:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph/
This article contains a lot of great information on the evolution of recording devices throughout history and the impacts they had on the music industry. The 1980’s saw the biggest changes for recorded music as the recordings became more digital. CD’s and MP3’s arrived around the 90’s and totally changed music production and distribution completely. It appears from both articles as if the most significant changes to recorded music which had the greatest impact happened around the 80’s and 90’s. This indicates that on the whole the evolution of recording devices started slow and began to make more significant leaps and bounds as it continued.
https://reverb.com/news/how-the-1990s-changed-recording-and-music-production-forever
This article emphasizes how music production was effected by the boom of 90’s recording technology.
This article was an extremely interesting and detailed description about how recorded music begun and has evolved over hundreds of years. Personally, the most interesting portion of this article had to have been how the music boxes came about in the early 1800’s. As a child, I grew up with jewelry music boxes and snow globes that would play music such as these music boxes had. It is even more interesting to me because had the music box not been invented, those little gems of my childhood wouldn’t have existed. I believe that music boxes create a beautiful and simple sound that are hard to recognize elsewhere. I believe the history of music boxes is even more interesting because it is believed music boxes could have originated in Switzerland before the 1800’s!
https://www.britannica.com/art/music-box This article speaks more on the history of music boxes.
I’ve always found it fascinating of how far we have come as human beings as far as recording technology. We’ve gone from paper to technology in just a few hundred years and now streaming and recording music is so much easier now. The machinery and engineering of recorded music has gotten only more complex but also more convenient. It’s WHACK!!!
Here’s a site that goes more into the evolution of recording technology: https://www.nrgrecording.com/post/the-evolution-of-recording
One of the things that I noticed in this article was how the development of the players developed. With the creation of the phonautograph by De Martinville and the phonograph by Edison in the 1800’s up to the current way we record music has had a great impression on me. There have been great advancements in technology to help with this. I enjoyed reading how things have developed over the years and I think the development of the phonautograph by DeMartinville and the phonograph by Edison deeply impacted the development of that technology.
My article is one about the timeline of the evolution of the music players.
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-evolution-of-music-players
It is astonishing and fascinating how the music industry evolved. This very interesting article showed us how fast was the evolution of recording devices throughout history and the impacts they had on the music industry. Who would have think in the time of Thomas Edison, who’s the one that everybody gives credit for the invention of phonograph, that his phonograph would have been the base of the great quality of music that we are hearing today? It all started with “Mary had a little lamb” and even though the quality was really bad, it was the beginning of amazing invention that led to what we have today. I also learned a real fun fact about the Jazz which name was Jass but people changed the name because it sounded too much like Ass.
Here is a link to illustrate more how the fast the music industry advanced.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-evolution-of-the-musi_b_11109130
I think its interesting to read about how the music industry evolved over the course of such a short time. From music boxes, to phonographs, and then eventually the radio, music and sound evolved into something that almost anyone could enjoy. Before, only wealthy individuals could afford the luxury of music and music playing devices, but with the introduction of public radio, it became easy for people of any socioeconomic status to have access. Not only did accessibility become easier, but also the quality of the music increased, and longer tracks and records could be produced.
Here is an interesting timeline that shows how the music industry has evolved with technology.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/music/inside/cron.html
I have never heard of MIDI before. I can see that the MIDI plays a big role in the creation of music. I would never imagine that it was being used for making music simply because I have never heard of it. I am grateful to have leaned about this big piece of the music industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI
It was interesting to find that, even back then, popular things to listen to still included comedy skits. It is somewhat awkward to think people used to wait in line to listen to music (or “tunes” as it seems they were called back then). I have tagged an article that shows the progression from phonograph to the later improved “Edigraph.”
I use MIDIs regularly and it was interesting reading about the origins. I thought it was interesting to learn how recording music came to be. Whats fascinating is that this area of the music industry would go on to influence contemporary artist and help set forth a standard for the industry. I regularly dabble in MIDIs and think this article attached may shed some light as to the uses of MIDIs in todays music.
https://www.midi.org/articles-old/the-history-of-midi