ABSTRACT
Many inventors and businessmen had unsuccessfully attempted to link sound to movies prior 1925. All of the motion picture leaders in the 1920s, primarily former exhibitors like Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and Carl Laemmle, knew of these attempts and failures. In addition, these entrepreneurs closely noted all changes in the state of industries that provided close substitutes and complements for movies. In the 1920s the structure, conduct, and performance of the radio, music, and vaudeville industries were so volatile that by the 1925-1926 motion picture season, the popular entertainment mix was significantly more complex than prior to World War I. Knowledge of this combination weighed heavily in all investment decisions any motion picture entrepreneur would make. Finally, the structure and conduct of the motion picture industry in 1925 also supplied crucially important data for any change within that industry.
