ABSTRACT
In the late 1920s and early 30s, electrically recorded and reproduced sound became a common technological basis for the “synergy” of that era’s key acoustic media. The most significant manifestation of the synergy was the popular song, around which the collaboration of music publishers, recording industry, radio, and sound film was formed. This chapter uses the example of the early Central European film song or Schlager to show how its migration between gramophone, radio, and film anticipated the workings of the multimedia entertainment industry as we know it today.
