History of Vinyl
Waterloo Records & Video
1600s: Rise of opera marks the creation & rise of the “music business”
Opera house
1860s: First audio recordings
Phonautograph (c 1857) apparatus for studying sound vibrations graphically, invented by (Edouard) Leon Scott de Martinville. Vibrations produced in cone traced on lamp blacked cylinder. Engraving, c1880.
AUDIO: The Very First Recordings (1859-1879)
1877: First phonograph (Edison cylinders)
Edison with an early version of his invention.
VIDEO:
1903 Edison Phonograph Recording Demo
1900: Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag”
First sheet music to sell one million copies
1901: First flat disc – shellac records
(78 RPM standardized by 1920s)
Shellac vs. Vinyl
1902: Enrico Caruso records arias in a hotel room
The beginning of the end of wax cylinders.
AUDIO: Enrico Caruso: Aria from Germania by A. Franchetti - direct 78 transfer (1902)
1920s: Recordings are meant to Preserve. (Later, will be mass produced & making $$$.)
�1927: Bristol sessions
- Intended to preserve the long-played songs of the Appalachia (orgins of country music)
AUDIO:
The Original Carter Family
(1 August 1927)
1930s: Preservation *becomes* Transformation by good luck & singular vocal talent
AUDIO:�“Mal Hombre”
- Lydia Mendoza (Native Texan & “Mother of Tejano Music”)
(1934)
AUDIO:�“St. Louis Blues”
- Bessie Smith (“Empress of the Blues”)
(1929)
Transformation: Not really a technical term. Recordings push past simply capturing reality or telling a story; something mystical happens, and music transports you to a specific time and place.
Mid-1940s: Live radio broadcasts deliver better sound quality than recorded 78s
AUDIO:�Bill Monroe Live at the Grand Ole Opry
(1940s)
AUDIO:�78 RPM Discs
Singers and Orchestra �(1928-1932)
1948: Columbia releases first 33 ⅓ LPs
The beginning of the end of 78s.
78s are abandoned by North American record companies.
1949: RCA Victor introduces 45 RPM 7” singles to compete with rival Columbia format 33 ⅓ 12”
VS.
1950s: Recording officially enters the Age of *Transformation* vs. Reproduction/*Preservation*
Transformation�Now, with advances in technology & microphones, recordings are not just capturing the audio/music for what it is. Recording artists are intentionally seeking to capture something mystical, and transform the listening experience past just “reality.”�
“One For My Baby” �- Frank Sinatra
(1958)
“Blue Moon”
- Elvis Presley
(1954)
1950s-60s: Rise of Modern Pop Music
Seeburg Corporation & first modern jukebox
In 1950, Seeburg was the first manufacturer to use 45 rpm records instead of 78 rpm records in its jukebox.
1949-1960s:
The Reign of the 7” A.K.A. 45s
Singles - Songs were typically
3-5 minutes
“Love Me Do”
- The Beatles
(1962)
Pre-1966: Albums as Compilations
(12” A.K.A. 33 1/3s are becoming
more popular.)
LPs - as a collection of songs
Meet The Beatles
- The Beatles
(1964)
1966: Albums
Blonde on Blonde
Bob Dylan
(1966)
=
first double gatefold album
Meant to be listened to all the way through. It is a “complete statement.”
Post-1966:
Modern Pop &
Concept Albums
LPs - cohesive storytelling & musical experience
Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band
- The Beatles
(1967)
Early to Mid 1970s:
Progressive Rock�
LPs:
Jazz, Prog Rock
=
longer songs
Below: The Myths & Legends of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table
(1975)
Right: Peter Gabriel (Original Lead Singer of Genesis)
(1973)
Late 1970s: Rise of Record Collecting, Various Packaging, & Reissues
Post-Beatles Breakup (1969):
The record business gets a bit silly in the ‘70s. Record companies do all they can to sell the same/similar records more than once and make big bucks. This occurs with Beatles records and other artists.��
Example at Right: Chad (Waterloo Records employee) has 3 versions of this album: a U.K. version, a U.S. version, and a Canadian version. They all came out in the early ‘60s, and they all have the same album cover.
However, each tracklist is completely different!
This collection factor makes the record geeks happy. But by the end of the decade, this tires and confuses the general record buying public and gives way to a different type of musical phenomenon…
Example at Left: Chad also has 3 versions of this album: the original U.K. version, the U.S. version, and a German version. They all came out in the early ‘60s, and they all have different album covers.
However, they are all exactly the same record, with no real difference other than country of origin (and cover art)!
Late ‘70s:
Discoteques
Disco =
Music
made for the nightclubs.
ABBA
(1979)
Upper Right:
Bad Girls
- Donna Summer
(1979)
The famous
Studio 54
dance club in NYC.
1980s: Hip Hop & DJs - New Manipulation of Vinyl
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
One of the first groups to use techniques such as backspinning, scratching, & mixing of vinyl to create their own danceable music.
“The Message”
(1982)
Golden Age of Rap perfects the genre’s method of storytelling.
Public Enemy
(1991)
1990s: Dance & Electronic Music Help Sustain Vinyl
The rise of the CD - cheap & convenient…
Rave & dance culture adopt and transform vinyl manipulation techniques used by hip hop DJs in the ‘80s.
Daft Punk:
famous DJ duo
But no fun at parties!
New Millenium: Vinyl Decline in the ‘00s
CDs
(Late ‘90s - Early ‘00s):
STILL cheap & convenient.
Napster�(2000):
Rampant illegal Internet sharing of digital music files (MP3s) causes controversy. Artists do not receive royalties from music shared consumer-to-consumer.
DIGITAL MUSIC
+
CHANGING DYNAMICS
IN THE
MUSIC BUSINESS
iPod & iTunes
(2001):
Napster shutdown.�
Apple releases iPod & iTunes = Legal purchase of digital music (MP3s) via Internet.
YouTube (2005-2006):
Streaming = Songs and music videos can be viewed via the Internet for free. No download
or storage space needed.
2008-2010:
The Recession causes struggle across all industries.
Vinyl Resurgence: 2007-Today
Waterloo Records & Video. Austin, TX.
(2016)
2007: First annual RSD.
Vinyl Resurgence: 2020-Today
2021:
Vinyl sales reach the highest they’ve been in 30 years!
2020:
Vinyl sales actually increase over the course of the pandemic. More people at home = more time to appreciate the experience of vinyl.
Worldwide Shortage:
Experts were unable to predict the vinyl boom. A shortage of record pressing plants currently leads to year-long wait times for vinyl releases.
Red [Taylor’s Version]�- Taylor Swift
(2021)
Record Collecting, Packaging, & Reissues Today
Endtroducing…..
- DJ Shadow
(1996)
Marketing & Selling NEW Artists on Vinyl
COLLECT ‘EM ALL!!!
Marketing & Selling Vinyl Today
Re-
Issues
Because of the popularity of CDs over vinyl in the 1990s and the current vinyl boom, many popular recordings initially released during that time are only just now getting pressed and/or re-released on vinyl!
Special Editions
Used
and/or Rare
FINAL
FUN FACT!!!
Best Selling Vinyl Albums of All-Time!
Thank you!� Please join us now for
Vinyl Happy Hour!
Serenity Hernandez Bogert / Patrick Floyd / Chad Van Wagner