A Brief History of Recorded Music

The History of Digital Music

Period: Feb 26, 1870 to Feb 26, 2016

Invention of the Phonograph

Aug 12, 1877

The first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 at the Menlo Park lab. "Mary had a little lamb" were the first words to be played back by the phonohraph devise.

Invention of the Graphaphone

Nov 26, 1885

By 1885 Alexander Graham Bell and his colleagues (his cousin Chichester A. Bell and the inventor Charles Sumner Tainter) had a design fit for commercial use that featured a removable cardboard cylinder coated with mineral wax. They called their device the Graphophone and applied for patents, which were granted in 1886.

Christmas Music on Air

Dec 24, 1906

First Radio BroadcastOn Christmas Eve, 1906, wireless operators on ships off the New England coast experienced the first radio broadcast in the United States. "Out of the midst of Morse code dots and dashes beeping through their headsets came the sound of a voice reading the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke and a violin playing "Silent Night." The voice wished them a merry Christmas, and then the dots and dashes started up again." The voice that was heard that night was that of inventor Reginald Fessenden.

Music at War

Jan 7, 1919

Thomas Edison's Message to Americans Regarding the Soilders In 1917, when the U.S. became involved in World War I, the Edison Company created a special model of the phonograph for the U.S. Army. This basic machine sold for $60. Many Army units purchased these phonographs because it meant a lot to the soldiers to have music to cheer them and remind them of home.

Regular Radio Brodcasting Through KDKA

Nov 30, 1920

KDKA broadcasts the first regular licensed radio broadcast out of Pittsburgh, PA.

Record Allows 25 Minutes of Playing Time/ Per Side

Feb 26, 1948

Colombia Records introduces new record that allows listeners to enjoy an unprecedented 25 minutes of music per side, compared to the four minutes per side of the standard 78 rpm record.

Cassete Tapes and Cartridges

Feb 26, 1958

Cassette Tapes (RCA) RCA cartridges became the first attempt to put reel-to-reel tape in cartridge form.

Walkman: Portable Music

Jul 1, 1979

"The portable cassette players, first introduced 30 years ago this week, sold a cumulative 200 million units, rocked the recording industry and fundamentally changed how people experienced music. " - TIME Magazine

Compact Disc (CD)

Aug 17, 1982

Fist CD
The first CD was a recording from 1979 of Claudio Arrau performing Chopin waltzes (Philips 400 025-2)

CDs Outsell Vinyl Records

Feb 26, 1988

Compacts Disks outsell vinyl records for the first time.

First MP3

Mar 26, 1998

The first portable Mp3 Player was released in Korea in 1998.

Online Listening :Pandora

Jan 26, 2000

Allowing music streaming since 2000.

Ipod Invention

Oct 23, 2001

Apple announced the inventionn of the ipod: the portable music digital device that would change the way music is listened to in the 21st Century.

iTunes Creation

Apr 28, 2003

Apple launches ITunes music store.

Digital Music in U.S. -1%

Feb 26, 2004

Introduction to digital music downloadingDigital made up only 1% of total U.S. Albums.

U.S. Digital Music Sales Reaches 23%

Feb 26, 2007

23%Digital share of total album shares reachedd 23%

United States Reaches 1 Billion Music Tracks

Feb 26, 2008

I billion dogotal tracks were purchased in the U.S.

Digital AAlbums: Increase of 39% since 2004 (U.S.)

Feb 26, 2009

40% of total album sales in the United States are dgital

Digital Music downloads reaches 100 million

Feb 26, 2011

100 million digital albums were purchased for the first time in the United States.

Digital Album sales going up in the U.S.

Feb 26, 2012

Digital album sales increased by 15% through August and were expected to reach new highs.