For many people on the planet, the way music is bought and distributed these days could never have been predicted. Just twenty years ago, most of the public was happy that LPs were starting to die out and welcomed the cassette tape with open arms. Not long after, compact discs rendered the tapes obsolete and were the de facto choice of music enthusiasts. LP record revivals notwithstanding, the CD has definitely changed the course of music for good. It eclipsed all other forms of music reproduction.

That is, until it was eclipsed by digital music files which are bought and shared on computers. Where can one buy a CD these days? Music stores are quickly becoming dinosaurs, with one after the other going out of business and closing their doors. The big cities of the world have all gotten a little stranger without the formerly ubiquitous CD store. The record labels have more or less died as well – yet, music is more accessible and more popular than ever.

For the real music lover, there is no shortage of enthusiasm for almost every facet of the recording industry. From learning how the sessions were done – and in what studio – to the instruments used, there are so many different ways to learn more about a recording and take it all in. The fascination with recorded sound is hard to dispute and at times it can be just as interesting as the artists themselves. How did it all come about? Looking over the history of recorded music is to take a remarkable trip through time.

The Original Maverick – the LP

Considering the astounding run of the long-playing record – still the medium of choice for most DJs – it is nearly impossible to overstate the LP’s importance to the world for the last 100-plus years. The original phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison (who else?) in the late 1870s and played a bulky cylinder which housed recordings. Once the system of playback was improved with the gramophone disc, the world began to flood with records. To imagine a world before recorded music is difficult to do these days, yet it is easy to imagine the demand which came for these receptacles of sound.

Many who are familiar with records will recognize the first form of mass-produced discs, the 78 rpm record. Rather bulky and somewhere in between a standard LP record and a 7” single, the 78 shellac reigned from the early days of the 20^th century until the 1950s. The invention of the microgroove extended the capacity for record lengths. Now, instead of having one session in order to produce 3 or 4 singles (of 2:30-3:30 minutes in length), the idea of a concept album emerged. Songs could be longer and they could all be tied together and packaged on a single disc. Naturally, the effects on music were astounding. Taking a quick look at jazz music from the period is the perfect illustration. Going from Charlie Parker’s brisk one-liners to John Coltrane’s long paragraphs in such a short time would have been impossible without the LP advances.

Tapes Arrive and Get Supplanted

With the imposing reign by the LP in mind, it’s difficult to see the need for the move to other mediums. However, the cassette tape had existed for decades before making its move in the late 1970s. Even though they are much less ubiquitous than LP records these days, cassette tapes dominated in the music industry for nearly two decades. The basic reasons can be easily understood. For one, the obsession with things getting smaller was popular in the 1960s and after. Cassette tapes were a perfect example of this phenomenon. Another big reason is mobility. Carrying a record player or driving along with a spinning disc is impossible. Tapes were set and could not skip once they were inserted in their players.

Perhaps even bigger than the mobility and size factors was the ability to record music on tapes. The piracy and sharing of today has its origins in that era. Whereas a record could not be copied – and therefore had to be purchased to be enjoyed – the tape could duplicate a record’s contents, as well as another tape. Even though tapes diminished in quality from the transfer, records quickly fell out of style.

That is, until the CD swiftly eliminated tapes from the collective unconscious. The quality of the material and the slim format were doubted by many at first, but the compact disc produced a remarkable sound never heard before in a mass-produced medium. All of the complaints heard about tapes were overcome by CDs. No more hiss, no more tangled film – in many ways, the CD was the Space Age equivalent of the record, with no needles and sticking if it was cared for properly.

Can a Computer Do That?

While the naysayers were out in full force for years as computers developed the technology to receive and play music, even the believers could not have imagined the way music is being bought and listened to these days. To imagine a world without dominant record labels was probably once a dream of exploited musicians; yet no one thought it could happen so quickly. The battles waged over sharing over the years came and went, with the listener ending up in control. Those who predicted the musicians would lose out were ultimately mistaken. Never has access to music been so simple, so universal. The names and songs of previously obscure musicians can travel around the world in seconds today. All you need to do is hook up your laptop to a hifi rack and you can listen to any number of your favourite bands from the comfort of your sitting room.

Spotify is the latest company to make an advance in the world of music circulated online. Eliminating the time usually spent waiting for a track to arrive on a computer, Spotify allows instant access from a catalogue of impressive proportions. Transporting music may no longer be necessary, as long as internet service can be guaranteed. The history of music is literally a click away. Edison may not have been able to visualize such a path from his old phonograph, but it’s doubtful he would be entirely surprised.