National Music Rack history

But in relative terms, records were still a small part of the entertainment pie, and recording them in the years before 1910 was no more exciting for musicians than acting in early films was for stage actors.

Sure enough, sales of everything just kept increasing through to the 1920s.

In 1921, the typical cost of producing a record was about 20 cents, including payment to songwriters or performers.

The record industry and musicians’ unions were still nervous enough to encourage US President Herbert Hoover to outlaw the playing of records on air, which he did in 1922.

The first big country star was “Fiddlin’” John Carson, the “Singing Brakeman,” who put out a string of huge-selling hit records starting in 1923.

Jukeboxes had existed since the turn of the century, but only became more popular after 1927 with the arrival of machines that let the listener make a choice (from a selection of 20 records.

In 1930, RCA Victor had hoped they could become a new long-playing consumer record format, but they could only be played so many times before they wore out.

The expensive classical records, always maintained as much for a record company’s prestige as for profit, were pretty much phased out by 1934—even Victor’s famous Red Seal brand was put on hiatus.

Although radio grew to employ over 1200 musicians in North America by 1935, that number began falling by the 50s and has been pretty much zero for decades now.

Capitol, a new label formed in 1941 with the intention of quickly becoming a major, originated the practice of giving free promo records to radio stations.

Columbia wasn’t going to let RCA Victor’s rejection derail the unveiling of the LP. They officially released it on June 18, 1948 with a press conference wherein Wallerstein stood beside a 10-foot-high stack of 78s, holding a foot of LPs which he said contained just as much music.

The format was officially introduced on March 31, 1949.

Manufacturers of record players helped ensure the multi-speed universe by selling models that played at 33, 45 or 78 RPM by 1950.

The label received a boost after founder Orrin Keepnews wrote an exposé of shady major label practices in The Record Changer in 1951.

But if it weren’t for the US market and RCA’s stubbornness, the 45 may never have lasted, because internationally it only appeared later, if at all. (The first LPs in Europe appeared in 1952 and in some places, the late 50s, with 45s taking even longer.

By 1964 there were over 40 products in the Wenger catalog and the company celebrated its first million-dollar year.