38 Replies to “August 29”

  1. I thought that it was very interesting that Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison kind of competed with each other. They weren’t exactly against each other but they improved each other’s inventions. For example, Bell is credited to creating and owns the patent to the telephone, but Edison made it more efficient by using Carbon as explained in this link.
    http://edison.rutgers.edu/transmit.htm

    1. Yea, it is amazing how the industry and the technology aligned during the “roaring 20s”. I could only imagine the pandemonium at the time being somewhat similar to the excitement of popular musical streams (pun intended) of Napster, Itunes, Spotify and the like. It seems every so often there is a shift in the industry or technological field that enables us to consume music differently and either the industry or the technology must play “catch-up.” I’ll have to check out that Tv series you mentioned.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/22/music-industry-shift-gif_n_5697945.html

  3. I can’t help but think of music streaming sites/apps, like Pandora and Spotify, when the article touched on the Coin-slots. Even back then people still had to pay for that “Ad-free listening”. We just have “freemiums” of the future with a more broad variety of music, podcasts, and other various streaming capabilities.

    1. Right? It seems things change but continue to stay the same. I also thought it was interesting that people already wanted the choice to listen to what they wanted instead of what came on the radio. Radio had only existed for a brief moment and already they wanted more options. I like what you said about the “freemiums”. The model seems to work. We get access to the product and if we enjoy it we can either continue using the limited capability or upgrade to the “full” version. Either way, we get to enjoy it.

  4. I found it pretty hilarious the first word every recorded as an audio recording was a curse word. How funny. On another note, I’m pretty fascinated how history has repeated itself in many ways. The Great Depression caused record sales to drop from 100 million to 6 million dollars in just a decade. I really assumed the more recent drop in sales due to streaming and consumers’ lack of interest in actually “buying” music was the first of its kind. I’m more confident now, that we will be able to find other ways to make money as Professor Rinard has pointed out.
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/01/12/vinyl-is-officially-booming-the-new-billion-dollar-music-business/#568723764054

    1. This article is completely true. I feel like the glamour of vinyl is coming back as people crave the nostalgia of connecting with the past. The “physical act” and tangibility of it seems so much more personal. More and more artists nowadays are coming out with their albums on vinyl to cater to this audience (as well as add to their sales). As trendy as it may be, history proves to repeat itself over and over.

  5. I found the evolution of sound reproduction mentioned in the beginning just fascinating. From cylinders to disks to what would eventually become music at our fingertips, technological advancements are ever changing. I felt it necessary to look up what each of the mechanisms looked like in order to have a visual understanding of the device at the time.
    Included here is a video of how vinyl records are made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqJ0ouQScM8

  6. i really found this article fascinating. I vaguely know the history of the telephone, but did not know that it eventually lead to the recording industry. i really like how Edison and Bell kind of really came together and were pioneers in leading this invention to new platforms without really knowing it. What is cool about this article as well, is that it really tells how the world tried to experiment with an already existing idea.

    https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/berlhtml/berlgramo.html

  7. It was really interesting to read this article and see how much progress the music industry has made but also how a lot of things are very similar. For example, in the article it states that when Automatic Phonograph Parlours began to spring up, the records they offered for listening were mainly only the most popular. Whatever was offered appealed to the lowest common denominator, much like the Top 40 hits of today that constantly play on the radio. Also, some of these parlours allowed people to listen for free only if they listened to a quick advertisement before or after. That reminded me of every streaming service that is out there like Spotify, Pandora, and even YouTube.

    Below is an article explaining how ads play into Spotify’s business.
    https://mic.com/articles/137400/how-does-spotify-make-money-here-s-the-business-model-behind-the-streaming-service#.YxX7oeAMv

    Also, here is a list of the Top 100 songs of this week. I can guarantee you’re sick of almost all of them.
    http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

  8. I found it very interesting the Radio Broadcast Companies and Record Studios first saw each other as rivals, but then later saw the benefits as innovations is both fields led to higher quality sound reproduction. Today it seems as history is repeating itself with a surge in music streaming apps record studios are making less and less money from selling hard copies of songs. Hopefully this issue will spark more innovations in music and the way we consume it.

  10. I am always curious how inventors (such as Edison) knew exactly what materials to use to create their inventions, and the mechanical process to make sure it worked every time. Nowadays, you see pictures and descriptions of the finished products, and perhaps their updated models. You rarely see the footage of the prototypes that led up to those finished products.

    I found videos describing not only how Edison’s phonographs worked with cylinders, but also some awesome playback from back in the day! Every now and then, I’ll see a movie or play a video game that plays something similar to what you hear in these videos. Neat stuff!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2664935141&feature=iv&src_vid=fWLlbk_bI7E&v=XE5Feon_IQY

    Furthermore, it is depicted that Edison was a proud, stubborn individual who thought only HIS prototypes and inventions would pioneer the future of sound reproduction. I would have been a little more flexible and “teamed up” with others trying to discover the breakthroughs that we all were trying to achieve. Then again, it’s all about the money.

  11. My knowledge of the history of the music industry only goes as far back as the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, so this was a very interesting read. I never knew how big and successful the music industry was even before the 1950’s. It’s crazy how much those record companies were selling at that time. I also loved the asides that foreshadowed further innovations in music technology like the patents for stereo records and the invention that would eventually become the basis for compact discs.

    If you wanna read more about compact discs, I found this link from the company that eventually developed them: https://www.philips.com/a-w/research/technologies/cd/beginning.html

    Here, is more history on stereophonic sound: http://ethw.org/Stereophonic_Sound

  14. It’s interesting how technology advances and how that technology astounds those at its time but seem tame compared to present day technology. For example, while people found human sound recordings an inconceivable feat in the 1800’s, now we have video communication in the palm of our hands along with music. It brings to mind just how astounding something like VR musical experiences is but how its gradual introduction has normalized the feat.

  16. I thought it was very interesting to see how everything got started and how some of the major inventions of time were produced or discovered by accident or were originally made for something else. To read a rough timeline of the growing and dying names and ideas of sound production and creation as well as the sending and receiving of sound in various methods was extremely interesting for me. Another thing that I found interesting was that most of the ideas came from scientists in the 1800’s. When you think about how music all got started or how it came to grow and change, you don’t always think about who invented ways to play such music or even transfer sound onto some kind of wax press or sheet of metal.

  17. Before this article, I had a poor understanding of how records were originated and who made them. The author mentions Edison received the credit for the phonogram because he marketed his plan to the public. It is rather unfortunate for the French inventor who tried to patent the idea. I agree that putting a patent on one’s invention or idea is a good way to make sure it cannot be stolen. I also agree that Edison, because of his technological genius and experimentation, is very important to the evolution of records and music.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/thomas-edison-phonograph-created-recording-industry-article-1.2899442

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng9w88mJDSQ

  18. One of the most striking things in this article (among many) was the fact that a scientist in 1884 had actually developed a technique used as a basis for developing compact discs (CDs). I’m sure I was not the only one under the impression that the progression of technology is based on innovations made in the past couple of decades. This is really only partially true. Scientists, inventors, and innovators have always developed truly cutting-edge ideas; the advancement really happens when those techniques and ideas have real-world applications. Of course, there were also limitations of resources and know-how, but it is still fascinating to see how people have developed techniques that have been used in recent years to create such innovative things like CDs, which can drive an industry to success.

    I followed-up by reading a page about how compact discs are made and how they work. It is a really interesting read, and I can see how researchers could have expanded upon an earlier technique to create a product that is fresh, innovative, and useful.
    https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/computers/compactdiscs/cd.html

  19. It’s always interesting to me to read about anything that pretty much has to do with the invention and evolution of sound/ medium. Things are only evolving more in modern day, but to think back to the basics is always the most mind blowing. To completely make something out of nothing, to create sound travel just by tinkering with sound vibrations, and forks. Edison wasn’t your average joe, with simplistic thoughts. Even knowing what I know now my mind still can’t grasp how it all came together. Even with the invention of the cylinder, and how it would go on to be used 20 years later in movies, and much more. Creating these sound mediums was a spark for so many eras such as the phone, films, the music industry. To go more in depth in this creation I looked up more on the actual cylinder phonograph invention itself, and how it was born, used, and eventually played it’s time out. They did so much with this invention though such as talking dolls, voice recordings to remember important loved ones, professional recording, and in record production. Super intrigued with this topic, it’s nice to reflect back to the “basics” even though they were more than just a basic invention.

    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/

  20. Many of you seem interested in the technology convergence that occurred in the music industry. As some of you mentioned, many of the most significant inventions that influenced how we produce, distribute, and consume music took place in the first half of the 20th century. I co-authored an article a few years ago that provides a detailed table with the most significant inventions for the past 150 years and how they fostered other inventions related to the music industry. You can access the full article here:

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293083569_The_one_hundred_fifty_years_of_change_in_the_music_recording_industry_An_historical_and_social_network_analysis

  21. This was a very interesting article to read, I lesrned several things that I did not know before. For example i had always persumed wax cylinders were perfect recording mediums, i never realized they sucked that bad. Also the idea of a chocolate record kind of excites me. Lol.

    To the point of Edison completely dropping out of the market doesn’t surprise me, he was a meserae old man that if it wasn’t his way it must be destroyed. I mean all you have to do is look at his fued with Nikola Tesla.

  22. I think it’s cool how history repeats its self. From Edison and bell competing and making each other’s inventions better, to the record studio and broadcast companies. They all saw each other as rivals and then realized later that their inventions could be used for great together. When you sit and think about how it all was started, and what the inventors had to go through it really blows your mind to know that later in our era people really do take these things for granted now! If you were to hand someone a record they would probably look at you crazy. Not knowing this is how they even get to listen to the music on their phones.

    Here is a quick video I found on the evolution of vinyl to cds
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-aaIA_tZEe0

  23. From reading this article and commentary from other classmates blogs, I would like to add the interesting angle of profit from the early stages of music technology in the article . In the early stages of selling music records and juke boxes seemed to have truly been a lucrative business venture, whereas now these methods of listening to music can be seen as inconvenient. I truly cannot fathom only being able to rent my favorite songs because they’re too expensive to buy. Music is the universal drug and to think it came at such an expensive price for consumers to purchase and listen too, has me just a bit flabbergasted .

  24. Before reading this article I would have never known that Thomas Edison was so involved with sound. I think Edison and the first thing that comes to mind is the Light Bulb. However, after reading this article I now know that he was indeed the inventor of the first Phonograph. I read about the first ever version of the phonograph being a dictation device called a dictaphone. The results of these devices turned out to be pretty bad, seeing as to the sound only got worse every time you used it. The rapid progress made by scientists over a span of 60 years amazes me. I was reading up on a couple of articles and found the following:

  25. Before reading this article I would have never known that Thomas Edison was so involved with sound. I think Edison and the first thing that comes to mind is the Light Bulb. However, after reading this article I now know that he was indeed the inventor of the first Phonograph. I read about the first ever version of the phonograph being a dictation device called a dictaphone. The results of these devices turned out to be pretty bad, seeing as to the sound only got worse every time you used it. The rapid progress made by scientists over a span of 60 years amazes me. I was reading up on a couple of articles and found the following: 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/

  26. This article really tells a lot about how far the recording industry has come. It is those simple inventions that led to the huge innovations that would shape the way we see and hear the world today. From a production standpoint, I was intrigued to read about how the first inventions were just ways to visualize waveforms. Being able to visualize waveforms such as sine, square, or saw waveforms is one of the first steps in sound production. In my opinion the Phonautograph may seem like a simple invention, but it was actually a huge step forward in the recording industry.

  28. this reading was very interesting on many levels. It gave me an insight of the actual “beginning” of music production. We may have thought it was for other reasons, but it all helped to create music in the end. I really connected with the part where the article said, “Other inventors had hoped to send melodies across telegraph wires, with some believing this could become a novelty telegraph service—for example, sending a melody to a loved one, like a primitive “singing telegram.” This stuck out to me because of the fact some of my family members love to send those random “Elf Yourself” videos during the holidays. It’s funny to think that back then they truly thought what was being invented by Alexander Bell when in reality it was so much more. However, in our times we are in now with all the technology it is more likely for people to send these types of videos rather than a simple card or sometimes phone call. Technology certainly does change, but the thoughts and inventions just keep on coming.

  29. The evolution of music is one that i’ve followed pretty closely. Having experience with the recording process and the promotional process with music I have come to love all forms of music. Vinyl is near and dear to me as I own close to 150 records. Also knowing the different types ways music is played i’ve become somewhat of an audiophile. This link shows a bit about Vinyl resurgence and the how shows connection between the article with the first bit of music produced.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxShVhw5avk

  30. There is not doubt that music industry was one of the world’s best inventions and it was extremely innovated throughout the years, this innovation clearly shows when the article says that “Records became a big business in the first decade of the century. Overall sales went from about 4 million in 1900 to almost 30 million in 1910. ” I cannot believe how much money music ended up making and every year it produces even more money and jobs.
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/music/inside/cron.html

  31. Hey Guys, I enjoyed this reading a lot Its just taken me a little time to respond. Ah it seems the more simple times in the Music Industry. I really enjoyed learning about vinyl and the beginning of the Recording industry , as a whole. I still believe the vinyl is a beautiful sound.

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