The Checkered Past of Audio Recording

Thomas Edison was responsible for the first audio recording back in 1877, using a phonograph to record the impressions into a tin-wrapped cylinder. He promptly applied for a patent, and was granted one the next February. This first model held the field for a few years, until 1881, when Charles Tainter in Volta Labs developed the first lateral-cut records (similar to the vinyl records we’re familiar with). Unfortunately, he had not developed a method of playback, just recording. This held until 1885, when Tainter cooperated with Chichester Bell to create vertically-cut cylinders coated in wax as the medium for the new recording practice. These had the unfortunate downside of being exceedingly fragile. Finally, in 1887 Emile Berliner developed another gramophone using a lateral-cut medium. This method had the added bonus of being easily duplicated through electroplating.

These three models competed in the market until later that year, when Edison developed a battery-powered version of his gramophone. That same year, Berliner developed his means of mass-production, copying onto hard rubber. All gramophones at this point had a capacity of a few minutes per disc. In 1889, the Columbia Phonograph Company was organized (grandpappy to the modern Columbia Music), who was also the first publisher of a music catalog. The next year saw the fielding of the first jukebox, which pulled in over $1000 (in 1890!) in its first six months. 1893 saw the boom of Berliner’s model, to which ends he incorporated the Berliner Gramophone Co. A few years later he discovered a new shellac that proved a better medium than rubber. Around the same time, 1894 to be exact, the world saw Marconi’s first radio, which he promptly took to America and patented.

1896 saw the creation of the first “modern” gramophone; Eldridge Johnson cooperated with Berliner and Levi Montross to develop the first motor-powered gramophone. This model became the most popular by the turn of the century, for its durability and cost. This also resulted in Victor Talking Machine Co., the forerunner to the modern RCA Victor. 1906 was the birth of the classic Victrola, but music recording was soon to suffer a popularity hit because of the advent of radio. 1916 saw the first major breakthrough in recording technology, with the advent of the condenser microphone (more on that later). The field improved further in 1925, when amplifiers were also developed. Between these two developments, the field advanced from the single horn receiver commonly known to series of microphones. 1929 saw the merger of RCA and Victor, along with the advent of vinyl records we know so well. Shortly after (1931) saw the creation of the first magnetic tape recording. This was followed by the creation of 3M, and the popular rise of this medium in 1948. This development made it to homes in 1954 when RCA Victor began selling the tapes to the public. The field took another leap in 1958, with the standardization of stereo play. The next leap takes us to 1966, with the publicity of the 8-track. The field finally developed the now-common cassette tape in 1965. These formats held the field, gradiating to the cassette until 1982, with the first publically available CDs. These two formats (CD and cassette) finally surpassed LPs in 1988.

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