24 Inventions That Changed Music

So long, wax cylinders! Almost. In 1930, RCA-Victor (RCA had by then purchased the Victor brand) made the first 33 1/3-friendly vinyl long-players commercially available. Whether because of subpar sound, the Depression rendering them unaffordable or RCA-Victor marketing them drolly as Program Transcriptions, few folks took these early LPs for a spin. Nearly two decades later, in 1948, Columbia Records reintroduced their take on the format, and a revolution − not to mention fierce competition with RCA − was born.