Sound Recording and Popular Music CHAPTER 4

Recording Sound: Timeline | --Phonograph (1877) | --Audiotape-(1940s) | --mP3 (1992) _____________________________________________________ | --Gramophone (1887) | Compact Disc (1983)

The First Sound Recordings French printer Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville was first to experiment with sound recording in the 1850s Used hog’s hair bristle as a needle and realized that when he spoke into a funnel, different sounds would come out Could record sound but couldn’t figure out how to play it back

Thomas Edison’s Phonograph 1877: Edison recorded his own voice by pressing his voice’s sound waves into tinfoil wrapped around a metal cylinder and played it back by retracing the grooves in the foil. 1878: Edison patented his device as an answering machine service

The Phonograph

Graphophone 1886—Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter improved phonograph with durable wax cylinders

Berliner’s Gramophone Emile Berliner (German immigrant) patented his device in 1887 Made with a flat disk instead of cylinder that played “records” made of zinc and coated with beeswax Berliner also developed a way to mass produce his records, bringing sound recording to the “mass medium” stage

Phonograph vs. Gramophone One would have to sing or speak into a cylinder to create separate recordings with the phonograph The gramophone allowed for a master recording to duplicate mass copies Berliner’s records also allowed for labels to identify each recording, thus beginning a “star system”, where fans could choose their favorite artists and songs

Marketing to the Masses Record-playing phonographs were widely available for personal use in the first decade of the 20st Century 1906: Victor Talking Machine Company placed the record player into a piece of furniture, creating the Victrola Was mechanical and had to be cranked to play First electric record player debuted in 1925 Victrola Record

Changes to Sound Recording Wax records were eventually replaced with shellac to improve sound quality but didn’t seem to help much 1930s: Invention of radio and the Great Depression caused major decline in record and phonograph sales 1940s: Shellac was being conserved during WWII, so record companies used polyvinyl plastic to make records, which made them more durable, less noisy, and attractive to consumers….sparking a new interest in the medium

Record Sizes Original record size was the 78-rpm records, which only allowed for 3-4 minute songs 1948: The 33 1/3-rpm LP (Long-Playing) record was introduced by CBS Records, allowing for multi-song albums and classical music pieces 1949: RCA introduced the 45-rpm record to compete with CBS, featuring a quarter-size hole, which was perfect for jukebox “singles” (brought about Jukebox Culture) After an extensive marketing battle, RCA and CBS compromised, and record players were eventually compatible to play all three record sizes. The 33 1/3-rpm record became the standard for albums and the 45-rpm record for single-song releases.

The Audiotape Magnetic tape sound recording first introduced in the 1930s but did not gain popularity due to its bulky reel-to-reel devices and fragile tape that easily broke 1940s: Plastic magnetic audiotape (invented by Germans in WWII) was introduced, and the audiotape found a place in our culture 1960s: Mini cassette tapes and portable cassette players were introduced, as was a new sound recording culture called “home dubbing” copying records or songs onto tapes from the radio

1983: CDs were introduced and skyrocketed The Compact Disc (CD) 1983: CDs were introduced and skyrocketed They were cheaper, easier to produce, less bulky and digitized Sony Walkman

MP3s and File Sharing 1992: MP3s were developed 1999: Napster-file sharing 2008: iTunes became No. 1 music retailer in the United States New Media: streaming radio, subscription music services, “cloud-based” music

RECORDS v. RADIO 1915: Phonographs were popular, and so was recorded music 1924: Record sales dropped with the introduction of radio Radio began playing copyrighted songs, and record industry formed ASCAP. Radio responded by playing live music and forming BMI 1950s: Arrival of TV forced record industry and radio to work together, which created pop music, disc jockeys, and rock and roll

The History of Pop Music Pop music: music appealing to a large section of the public or a particular group in the public (ex. Teens) --U.S. Pop Music today comes in many diverse forms: Blues, Country, Tejano, Salsa, Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Punk, Hip-hop and Dance

Tin Pan Alley Began in late 1880s with sheet music Got name from a section of Broadway in Manhattan; used to describe sound of cheap pans banging together Song publishing from Tin Pan Alley lasted all the way through 1950s-1960s Key role in transforming pop music into a mass medium Tin Pan Alley History

Rise of Pop Music 1920s: Vaudeville --the first pop vocalists Vaudeville Vaudeville Musical Act Also, jazz music developed in New Orleans 1930s- “Swing” music (band leaders)

Pop Music 1930s-40s: “Crooners” like Frank Sinatra—first teenage heart throb causing fan pandemonium; also, war songs from bands like the Andrews Sisters 1950s: Rock and Roll—blues slang for “sex” Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry

Rock and Roll Considered first integrated music Foundations of Rock and Roll: 1.Blues and Rhythm and Blues 2. Youth Culture 3. Racial Integration Alan Freed—first disc jockey; coined term “rock and roll”

Rock and Roll… Three Main Obstacles: 1. Cover music 2. Payola 3. Censorship Beginning of 1960s: Rock and roll tamed by recording industry with clean-cut musicians, like Ricky Nelson and Leslie Gore (too much controversy)

Through the Decades 1960s British Invasion: The Beatles Motown: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Surf Rock: Beach Boys Folk and Psychedelic 1970s: Disco and Punk, Glam Rock, Hip-hop 1980s: Alternative Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop 1990s: Alternative Rock, Grunge Modern: Pop

The Business and Labels Artists and record companies need each other to make money File Sharing and Record Sales: 2000- music industry experienced significant loss as file-sharing began to overtake CD sales 2010: U.S. music sales fell to $6.85 billion, down from $14.5 billion in 1999 A few major labels control the industry: Today: Three major music corporations run the business (control 65% of the industry): Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group Biggest challenge for the Major Labels: Indie Labels: About 5000 large and small indie labels Produce about 35% of American’s music Much more accessible with the Digital Turn and downloads/streaming