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The Phonograph
In 1877 the first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. The phonograph was the first method of recording and playing back sound. -
The 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. -
Records
In 1906 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
LPs (Long Playing record) also known as an "album" were invented in 1948. The 33 1/3 LP was released by Columbia Records. -
Multitrack Recording
In 1962 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. -
Cassette Tapes
1963- Phillips develops a compact stereo cassette tape and player. The cassette tape became the most popular form of music media for several years. -
Compact Discs
Compact Dics or CDs were introduced in 1982 in Japan. The first CD released was Billy Joel's "52nd Street". One year later, in 1983, CDs were released in the USA. -
Napster and File Sharing
In 2000 Napster is released. Napster allowed people to easily share song files with eachother. This new program led to the music industrys drop in recording sales and accusations of total copyright violations. -
Apple iPod
In October of 2001 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. -
iTunes
In 2003 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.