Historical Background

These resources provide historical background for the business and technology behind recorded sound.

  • Timeline This brief historic time-line illustrates major events in the recorded sound industry, from the birth of the recorded sound in 1857, to the merger of the two recording industry giants Columbia and Victor Records in 2004 under their parent companies Sony and Bertelsmann Music Group while TowerRecords files for bankruptcy.
  • North American Phonograph Company The North American Phonograph Company was an early attempt to commercialize the maturing technologies of sound recording in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Though the company was largely unsuccessful in its goals due to legal, technical and financial problems, it set the stage for the modern recording industry in the mid-1890s. Learn more here.
  • Selected Library of Congress Posts