ABSTRACT

This book is intended as a survey history of the American record business as it developed during its first full century. It already existed, just barely, when the century began, and by the start of the twenty-first century, whatever its troubles, it had become a very big business: 785 million albums in 2000 might not have represented much of an increase over the previous year, but it was still a lot of records. The story of the industry’s development is a financial and commercial one, concerning sales, competition, and economic forces, and it is also a musical one, concerning musicians and songwriters. The history of a country’s music is, to an extent, the history of the country itself, and much more could be said—indeed, much more has been said—about that than can be attempted here. But it is hoped that with this overview the reader will gain a certain perspective on that history and the way that the creation of an art form interacts with the machinery of its distribution—or has, thus far, anyway.

chapter 1900|18 pages

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THE BIRTH OF THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

chapter 1910|20 pages

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STAGE, SHEET MUSIC, AND DISC: A NEW SYNERGY

chapter 1920|20 pages

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THE JAZZ AGE

chapter 1930|24 pages

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BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

chapter 1940|24 pages

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WAR AT HOME, WAR ABROAD

chapter 1950|20 pages

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ALL SHOOK UP

chapter 1960|22 pages

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THE ROCK INVASION

chapter 1970|24 pages

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THE BALKANIZATION OF POPULAR MUSIC

chapter 1980|22 pages

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THE RISE OF THE MUSIC VIDEO STAR

chapter 1990|22 pages

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THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION BEGINS