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Phonograph
In 1877 the first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. The phonograph was the first method of recording and playing back sound. -
Gramophone
10 years after the Phonograph was invented Emile Berliner came up with the Gramophone. He was the first inventor to stop recording on cylinders and start recording on flat discs or records. The first records were made of glass. Later on they were made of zinc and eventually plastic. -
Records
The Victrola model record player was introduced by RCA Victor. This record player had variable turntable speeds to accommodate the already wide range of records being produced at the time. -
LPs
The 33 1/3 LP (Long Playing record) was released by Columbia Records. The preferred disc for singles became the large-hole 45rpm records by RCA Victor in 1949. The 45rpm record was 7".
In 1952 the Recording Industry Association of America was formed. -
Multi-Track
Multi-track analog tape recording began in recording studios. The idea of a multitrack recorder and experiments started in the late 1940s by guitarist, inventor and composer Les Paul. Artists such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys began to multitrack extensively. After this started, almost all popular music was recorded this way. -
Cassette Tape.
Cassettes brought something new to the world of music media in the 60s. Phillips develops a compact stereo cassette tape and player. The cassette tape became the most popular form of music media for several years. In the 70s it became possible to record your own music off of records or the radio onto a blank cassette tape. You were now able to listen to music on the go. Portable cassette players were also released. -
Compact Discs
Compact Disc or CDs were introduced in 1982 in Japan. The first CD released was Billy Joel's "52nd Street". In 1983, CDs were released in the USA. It only took 3 years for CDs to overtake LPs as the top selling music media in the United States.
In 1999 Recordable CDs became available. -
Napster and File Sharing
In 2000 Napster is released. Napster allowed people to easily share song files with each other. This new program led to the music industry's drop in recording sales and accusations of total copyright violations. -
Apple iPod
Apple introduced the biggest hit in music media, the iPod. The iPod grew in popularity rapidly. over the course of 7 years there have been 14 different versions of the iPod all with different capabilities and specialties. The iPod began with the Classic. The first 3 Classic iPods ranged between 5 and 40GB. After the release of the third classic Apple released the first iPod mini. The minis were available in 5 different colors and had a storage capacity of 4GB. -
Apple iPod part 2
After the mini's the fourth classic iPod was released which now held photos transferred from your computer via USB. Next came the iPod shuffle, a faceless iPod that used flash memory and only held 1GB. The iPod classic with the photos was now available in color and held up to 60GB. The second iPod mini was also out which held up to 6GB and now had a brighter color screen and a longer battery life. -
Apple iPod part 3
The nano also held photos. The next classic released could now not only hold photos but hold video files also, up to 80GB of space was available on the iPod Video. Later the 2nd nano was released and came in 6 colors holding up to 6GB of music and photos. -
iTunes
Apple released the online music store to go along with the new iPod. iTunes allows the iPod user to manage audio and video on their computer. in iTunes, several things are possible. You can organize music into playlists with one or more libraries, edit file information, record CDs, copy files to a digital audio player, purchase music and video from the built in music store, download free podcasts, backup songs onto a CD or DVD, and encode music into a number of different audio formats. -
Apple iPod part 4
In 2006 the latest shuffle was released. Now smaller and with a convenient clip and 4 color choices holding 2 GB of music.
The latest classic iPod was released in 2007 this iPod held pictures, videos and 160GB of information. -
Apple iPod part 5
Also in 2007 the third nano came out, now with video capabilities, a smaller body and bigger screen, new color choices, new interface and 3GB of memory. The most recent iPod released in 2007 was the iPod Touch, the first iPod with WiFi and a Multi-touch interface. With the new iPod touch you can reach the safari browser, YouTube and the iTunes store to purchase music directly from your iPod. Storage for the iPod touch ranges from 8 to 32GB.
