Harald Holst Boris Jermer The Role of the

Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Overview • Introduction • View I – Methodology: Linear History Approach • View II – Methodology: Actor Network Theory • Conclusion Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Linear History I • Music before the phonograph was delivered as 1 - sheet music to be played 2 - rolls for player pianos, “music boxes” • 1878 Edison built and patented the first “Speaking Machine” also called phonograph – Founding of Edison´s “Speaking Phonograph Co. “ • 1885 The “Gramophone” was patented first by Bell & Tainter – Led to legal problems and a fight about the patents • 1885 “Columbia Phonograph Records” was founded • 1887 Emile Berliner develops first flat metal disk, which can be mass produced • 1901 Enrico Caruso becomes first big performer to make a record Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Linear History II • 1914 - ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) was founded to ensure that members receive royalties for recordings • 1918 - WWI songs create further demand for gramophones • 1920 s - The era becomes known as the “Jazz Age, ” – gramophones become popular in American and European homes • 1924 - Radio stations draw audiences away from grammophones – Sales of records drop 50 percent Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Linear History III • 1929 Stock market crash ushers in Great Depression – Record sales hurt further • 1945 Magnetic audio tape, used by Germans during WWII, is brought to US by the Military • 1948 LP introduced by of Columbia Records – LPs allow 25 minutes of music per side • 1983 Compact discs arrive – They replace vinyl records almost totally within two years Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Linear View • Linear View = Determinist view (Edison CD) – In the majority of the literature the history is presented that way – „. . . The next day he [Edison] realized that he could. . . replay them for a simulacrum of the speakers´s voice. This flash of insight paved the way for the modern recording industry. “ (The Atlantic Monthly, 1995) Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Actor Network Electrical Industry Military Lightbulb Innovation Culture Economical Benefit Edison Bell Record Companies Gramophone Artists Marketing Consumer Culture Phonograph Berliner Purchasing Power Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Artists & Recording Industry • 1885 “Columbia Phonograph Records” was founded • 1901 Enrico Caruso becomes first big performer to make a record – Later earnings from his recordings was over $2 million USD • 1920 s Columbia and Victor record companies develop electrical recording process, using microphones instead of funnels • 1948 LP introduced by Columbia Records – LPs allow 25 minutes of music per side Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

The Culture of Invention in New England • New England area held in high international regard for its industry, technology and spirit of inventiveness – Provided a nurturing environment for the inventive imagination • Indicators of such culture: – Law firms devoted to patents – Education institutions such as Lawrence scientific school, MIT etc. – Machine shops which helped inventors making their inventions come true • Edison, Latimer, Bell, Thompson were all connected to this area – „Legal firms and machine shops operated side by side with commercial ventures interested in the purchase, marketing, and distribution of patents and patented goods. Some such ventures were respectable, with staff that understood and carried through the difficult, often intricate work of bringing an invention to fruition. “ (Manning, K. ) Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Phonograph and Grammophone Edison, 1878 Harald Holst, Boris Jermer Berliner, 1887 The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

Edison´s Patent „Speaking Machine“ (1978) Harald Holst, Boris Jermer The Role of the Speaking Machine in Music Histroy

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