Taken from puddlegum.net

Recorded music has existed for 130 years, since Edison’s phonograph cylinder began to challenge the way people thought about music. Before the 1880s music was only available if someone would perform it. This intimate connection between the artist and audience could not be replaced with grooves carved into tinfoil.

When Berliner Gramophone began to slap their label on records in 1894, the concept of record labels, manufacturing music and the music industry was conceived. During the first thirty years the songs were limited to four to five minutes, due to the limited diameter of the record and rates that the they rotated per minute. Song A was fitted with Song B, not always by the same artist.

Many of the early recordings were made while artists performed live on radio, dressed as though the audience were watching. Connecting with the listener was not lost, and live performances retained its life. Radio stations began to sell soap and needed something to draw listeners. Four minute songs were the perfect length to fill the empty broadcasting slots.

Collecting recorded music was also a new concept. In the 1930s record collections were stored in record albums, a book with ten sleeves that protected the fragile discs from breaking… and so the concept of the album was born.

In 1948 the long-player, or LP, caught on, and multiple songs were pressed on both sides of the record. The record album took on a new life, from an album of records to an album of songs. The album needed cover art; being sold in a thin paper sleeve would no longer suffice. The 7″ vinyl provided Extended Play, or EP, used for singles or short albums.

In many respects, the current state of music resembles the 1930s and 1940s… returning to EPs and singles, fewer LPs, and a growth in live entertainment. If so, we may be poised for a rebirth of creativity. Much like the early radio stations using music to sell soap, blogs use Mp3s to sell advertisement.

The emphasis for live intimate shows is seeing an explosion as a result of the internet. More artists are taking on more of the costs of recording by going independent, and choosing to market their own music.

With the fluid movement of progress and regress in the music industry, it seems that the concept of the album may see a decline. The internet is providing artists with the option to release their music independent of a traditional record label. As a result, costs of recording in professional studios pressure artists to record several songs at a time until they can afford to record an LP. The frequency that EPs and singles can be released allow the artist to connect with his listeners several times a year, instead of one LP every two or three years.

Sixty years later it’s interesting to see how the first thirty years of records still influence our expectations of recorded music. Three to four minutes still dominate as the common song length, in spite of the lack of time limits in digital recordings. The concept of the album continues to live, even though we store our recorded music on hard discs or flash drives. Artists still sign to record labels, even though discs are no longer labeled. Cover art is attached to the song files, though digital 1s and 0s no longer need a cover.