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The Introduction of the Phonograph
Sounds to be recorded were transmitted through a recording stylus, which would create indentations on a round phonograph cylinder, and a playback stylus could read the recording and play it back through a diaphragm and the iconic horn. Vinyl records were capable of holding 20 minutes of music on each side. -
Moving To the Tape
The introduction of the RCA tape revolutionized home audio. The addition of the 8-track in stereos and cars was an addition to the single option of listening to the radio. Later portable devices, such as the Walkman, emerged. -
Digital Get Down- The Compact Disc
By the late 80s, CDs had exploded in popularity, with the cost of CD players coming down and an increasingly large number of artists converting their back catalogs to the new digital format. The 60-minute playtime of a CD combined with the high audio quality offered, as well as the reading laser’s resistance to interference by dust or other particles, made the CD the primary musical medium for the next decade, with home and portable players quickly being adopted by listeners. -
Internet and the MP3
The introduction to the format of an MP3 was first introduced in 1982, however, was perfected by 1995. This was revolutionary for the industry, creating a way for people to share music with audio files. This then lead to the explosion of music sharing and downloading websites such as Napster and Limewire. -
Riding the Wave of Online Streaming
Online streaming with websites began with the website Pandora, which was introduced in 2005. Later on, websites such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and Apple Music all gave music listeners the option to listen to music with either ads in between songs, or subscribers could pay a monthly fee to listen to their music for as long as they wanted ad-free.
