20 Replies to “August 31”

  1. So the coin-operated phonographs and automated player piano was like the first juke-box with Edison’s invention of the “ear tubes” making it easier to listen to the music or whatever was playing. Could this be just an antique IPod? It has the music and a connected headphones, but just called different. Also, the juke-boxes now are mostly digital but play throughout the place it is located in and not how it used to be. There’s no place to connect your headphones!
    More information about the invention and its’ modifications- http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a21127/how-the-jukebox-got-its-groove/

  3. David Sarnoff was the mastermind behind “Radio, as we know it today” He was eventually picked up and sponsored by RCA, to create a prototype for the “radio”. He proved that the radio market had potential by streaming various items on this contraption. Needless to say, he was right, but it had a lot of evolving to do. We now have things like satellite radio, that have capabilities to stream live sporting events, concerts, news reports, and so much more. All because of the creation of wireless telegraphy. Some inventions are extraordinary!
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Sarnoff
    https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1920-1950s-6d491d7cb606

  4. When I read about the early forms of DJs in the article, it’s easy to see how thoughtless of a task that union musicians had – to play track after track and be referred to as a “pancake turner”. How demoralizing of a label!

    Once the roles of the DJ progressed to become more of a personality rather than a human jukebox, the public began to pay more and more attention to whatever spoke to them.

    I found a short clip of the intro to Martin Block’s “Make Believe Ballroom” show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67UhyDqvJss

    More about Martin Block
    http://www.radiohof.org/martin_block.htm

    If more people knew the craft and skill required to perform the tasks of a modern DJ, I think the occupation would be a lot more respected in the public eye.

  5. It was interesting to read everything that the musicians themselves had to be put through most of the time. With the growing labels and music recording industry, as a musician, you either died off or flourished, there really was no in-between. Then when the record labels got into a fight about who could make the best new thing, the musicians kind of got pushed aside a bit so the companies could focused on the money aspect of the industry. Then when the smaller record companies came back into play, more musicians of all different genres started to regain their want to record and make good money and make new music that appealed to all different kinds of people, not just the common middle class like before .

  6. I think its pretty funny how back in the early days of radio people viewed being a radio DJ he same way we view working at McDonald’s today. Then the entire Radio industry saw a boom in not just broadcasting music but also in shows and soap operas. Even during the Great Depression President Franklin Roosevelt had his own radio show with his Fireside Chats which helped the American people feel closer to the President and politics in Washington D.C. http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/radio-in-the-1930s/

  7. From record company competitions and technological innovations to the rise of radio and independent labels, this article had so much more information to absorb than the previous part. What I find most interesting is how much the major record labels’ drive for profit leads to things like the development of the LP and 45 and the signings of artists like Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Louis Armstrong seemingly without much foresight or care for the long-term effects of their decisions. They just want to make as much money as they can and yet they still manage to issue classics such as “Rhapsody in Blue” or “Wreck of the Old ’97.” Now that decades upon decades have past, it’s interesting to look back and see how these labels contributed to popular culture without so much as the intended desire to. As far as independent record labels go, it’s kind of amazing how many of the labels mentioned in the article are legendary in their own right and crucial to the development of popular music we know and love today.

    My favorite independent from this time period has to be Sun Records. If you want to learn more about it, click here: https://www.sunrecords.com/history

  8. With an abundance of topics covered in this article, from the major label rivalries to the great depression, the rise of small independent labels stood out to me. Many of the major labels were more concerned with competing for the latest innovation to progress the way people listen to music and the quality of the sound. However, the increased amount of labels in the post-war era, both big and small, helped expose new genres, such as jump blues and bluegrass. While major labels advanced record production and quality, I think smaller labels were more responsible for the success of record sales. These smaller labels gave a chance to unknown artists and new genres that got listeners excited and want to buy their records.

    http://www.npr.org/2010/05/11/126607409/post-war-rhythm-and-blues-bridging-jazz-rock

  9. What I thought stood out to me most about this article was that in the beginning of the 20th century record players changed the way music evolved into a worldwide marketing successful industry. It was interesting to read and learn that sheet music was the way people heard the music. In today’s time that would be like going to the music store and buying the artists new album. I never knew that records got so popular to where in the text it reads by 1920 there were over 100 million sales. If you think about it, music records was the foundation of music being acclaimed so globally for such a long time. Movies and Broadway shows started inserting music in its films and plays, then came the creation of putting them into television shows into cassette players. Record players not only created success for the music industry, but created success from people all over the world. Music labels started becoming a thing and music artists were beginning to get signed and play in arenas and stages. Back in the 1920’s, the music industry was just getting started for since then different styles of music that have been created such as jazz. Jazz music became an music sensation right off the bat. The style was being played by a lot of people all around the country. It had a style that just stuck with people and made a connection like no other. Music is an universal language and Jazz put out that message around the world.
    https://jazztimes.com/departments/education/beyond-the-music-what-jazz-teaches-us/

  10. I can admit that my prior knowledge of records was limited before reading this article. While it is fascinating to know that these products marked the state of the recording industry as it was, I still needed some clarification about the differences between LPs, 45s, and 78s. When described in more technical terms and with a simpler description of their historical context, I can better understand the differences between types of records, and the reasons for the popularity of a certain record at a certain place in time. This link leads to the article that furthered my understanding. I encourage you to take a look if you also need some more clarification.

    https://www.history-of-rock.com/record_formats.htm DaDa

  11. There are many interesting things in this article but what really caught my attention was how the music industry has innovated so much throughout the year. An example could be when it said that “In the 1890s, most people listened to records in arcade-like “phonograph parlours,” where each listener would listen to their selection of music or comedy through ear tubes””. That is crazy!! now we even have wireless headphones! I wonder what is coming next, excited to find out!
    http://scholar.ulethbridge.ca/sites/default/files/vallee/files/flat_disc_phonographs.pdf?m=1458144733

  12. I love reading these articles and realizing just how much the past and present have in common. During the explosion of new labels the popularity of jazz also exploded, and other musicians started to copy the same style in their music. And still to this day artists take influences from other types of music and other artists to use toward their own music. Sampling is also widely used in modern music. One of my favorite artists, The Weeknd or Abel Tesfaye, is heavily influenced by Michael Jackson as many other artists are. Below is a link of his cover of “Dirty Diana.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp0H9DMH4h8

    And a playlist of his samples/inspirations

    https://open.spotify.com/user/theweeknd/playlist/5DHqNymnraoBbxRBx9YYBk

  13. As mentioned in the “After the War” segment, along with the “sing” era of the 40s came the reappearance of “hot jazz” known to the Roaring 20s. This comeback was seen as the “first real “retro” movement since recording began” – the first of many. Within just two decades, a rediscovery and appreciation of a style came about which got me thinking about just how often these styles come and go in today’s age. With countless artists, styles, and songs over the years, many things have been done and used before which gives the modern artist a bigger challenge in creating something new and unheard of. The thing about music that excites me is the endless possibilities, arrangements, blends, and ideas that form something an audience can relate and react to perhaps in a way they hadn’t before.
    Here is a bit on Post-War Jazz favorites and emerging styles: https://www.thoughtco.com/jazz-by-decade-1940-1950-2039543

  14. This whole reading was really cool to get into. I have a pretty big collection of records and to see this emergence of “records” and the technical advancements of recording within the studio is pretty neat. What’s really good to note is that within this 70 year period cassettes would eventually make an appearance. Totally changing the game when it comes to the physical form we bought our music. What’s even cooler is the fact that musicians were willing to try nearly anything to squeeze the most money out of their work. Check out this article it goes into some of the post record era and talks about vinyl and its “death”:https://www.spin.com/2014/05/did-vinyl-really-die-in-the-90s-death-resurgence-sales/

  15. I found this article very interesting, specifically how jazz became popular. I had always assumed that with jazz being around since the end of the first world war everypne knew about it. The fact that it wasn’t until records of jazz started selling that everyone was hearing for the first times outside of clubs.

    Here is an interesting link about the beginnings of jazz:http://twentiesjazzmusic.weebly.com/so-why-did-jazz-become-so-popular.html

  16. It seems the record store owners were attempting to become one-stop-shops! It seems like a conflict of interest to have the recording studio and the record store in the same building. It’s a cool idea, but it also seems like a conflict of interest to me. Wouldn’t you end up selling your competition’s music as well? On another note, without labels, we probably wouldn’t have ever said mega pop stars such as the aforementioned Michael Jackson. Later in history, labels would play a major (pun intended) part in the business, using their funding to “sell” the artist to the public time and time again. Here’s a small slideshow that breaks down what record labels do: https://www.slideshare.net/jadewhyatt/structure-and-breakdown-of-record-labels

  17. This reading takes me back and makes me go over the evolution of vinyls to cds today which have no worth what so ever it’s crazy how things evolve over time and you can trace them back to the beginning. I wonder who started the first record label ever in history and what was going on in their heads to make them say “I’m going to help other artist like myself get their music heard” I bet there was more to it then just that but on a positive here’s a little deeper read about vinyls and how they work/evolved over time!

    https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1920-1950s-6d491d7cb606

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