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24 Inventions That Changed Music

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24 Inventions That Changed Music

A brief timeline of key breakthroughs in recorded sound

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The LP (1931)
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Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images6/24
March 17, 2014

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The LP (1931)

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. 

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