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The Phonograph
Thomas Edison, an American inventor, was the first to create a device that could record and play music. He invented the phonograph in 1877. The sound quality was poor, and each recording was only playable once. -
Gramophone
In 1888, the gramophone was created. It was the first device to switch from cylinder recording to flat disc or record recording. You had to wind it up to use it because there was no electricity. -
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Shellac Records
Before companies made records out of vinyl, they were made out of Shellac. Shellac was a resin also used as a finish for some wood furniture. -
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Vinyl Records
Vinyl records replaced shellac as they were cheaper and less brittle. Early vinyl records had a playing time of about 10 minutes aside. Later records such as long-playing records (LPs) could play for about 45 minutes a side and seven singles had one song on each side. Records became hugely popular and in the 1960s to 1980s almost every teenager had a record collection. Despite a recent vinyl revival, many of Sydney's record shops have closed due to more modern ways of owning music. -
Cassette Tapes
People bought pre-recorded cassette tapes and also used them to record their own vinyl records (and later CDs) or their friends' records. Unlike vinyl, you could play a cassette tape in a car. One of the most popular features of cassette tapes was the ability to record mixed tapes, which was the forerunner of the playlist. -
Sony Walkman
The Sony Walkman was a personal mobile music player. It was a revolutionary concept and was the inspiration for all future mobile music players, including the iPod and even led to Spotify. It was invented because Sony's co-founder Masaru Ibuka wanted to listen to music on his long flights. This sparked the release of the Sony Walkman. -
CDs
CDs (or Compact Disks) and CD players became generally available in the 1980s. Unlike a cassette, you could choose what song to play at what time, this is one of the reasons it quickly beat tapes in popularity. -
The iPod
In 2001, Apple changed how people listen to music forever through the release of the iPod. The iPod allowed you to store music without a hard copy. Instead, you could take the small device on the go by listening through the earbuds it came with. It could store up to 1000 songs. -
iPod Touch
With the release of the iPod touch in 2007, you could connect your music listening to wi-fi for the first time. The iPod touch allowed you to connect to the iTunes Store and download songs almost instantly through your home internet connection. -
Music Streaming
Today, people mainly listen to music through streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Streaming services such as Spotify have upwards of 50 million songs on them which you can access for free with ads or with a paid subscription. The most revolutionary aspect of streaming services is they have replaced ownership of music with a subscription business model. This drives loyalty as people will lose their playlists and downloads if they cancel their subscriptions.