Content deleted Content added
Sateystnes (talk | contribs) Improved introduction for easy and brief understanding of the formats. Also wrote about the different names. |
Added a colloquial name of an object. Tags: Reverted Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
| (43 intermediate revisions by 20 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
{{For-multi|the magazine|Phonograph Record (magazine){{!}}''Phonograph Record'' (magazine)|cylinder recordings formerly commonly called phonograph records|Phonograph cylinder}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Vinilos distintos tamaños.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Three vinyl records of different formats, from left to right: a 12 inch [[LP record|LP]], a 10 inch LP, a 7 inch [[Single (music)|single]]]]
A '''phonograph record''' (also known as a '''gramophone record''', especially in [[British English]]), a '''vinyl record''' (for later varieties only), or simply a '''record''' or '''vinyl''' is an [[analog signal|analog]] [[sound]] [[Recording medium|storage medium]] in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated [[spiral]] groove. The groove usually starts near the outside edge and ends near the center of the disc. The stored sound information is made audible by playing the record on a [[phonograph]] (or "gramophone", "turntable", or "record player").
Records have been produced in different formats with playing times ranging from a few minutes to around 30 minutes per side. For about half a century, the discs were commonly made from [[shellac]] and these records typically ran at a rotational speed of 78 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]], giving it the nickname "'''78s'''" ("seventy-eights"). After the 1940s, "vinyl" records made from [[polyvinyl chloride]] (PVC) became standard replacing the old 78s and remain so to this day; they have since been produced in various sizes and speeds, most commonly 7-inch discs played at 45 rpm (typically for [[Single (music)|singles]], also called '''45s''' ("forty-fives")), and 12-inch discs played at 33⅓ rpm (known as an [[LP record|LP]], "long-playing records", typically for full-length [[album]]s) – the latter being the most prevalent format today.
==Overview==
Line 15:
}}
The phonograph record was the primary medium used for music reproduction throughout the 20th century. It had co-existed with the [[phonograph cylinder]] from the late 1880s and had effectively superseded it by around 1912. Records retained the largest market share even when new formats such as the [[compact cassette]] were mass-marketed. By the 1980s, [[digital audio|digital media]], in the form of the [[compact disc]], had gained a larger market share, and the record left the mainstream in 1991.<ref>[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/514312171.html?dids=514312171:514312171&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+09%2C+1991&author=&pub=The+Record&desc=It's+almost+final+for+vinyl%3A+Record+manufacturers+dwindle+in+the+U.+S.&pqatl=google It's almost final for vinyl: Record manufacturers dwindle in the U.S.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116093809/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/514312171.html?dids=514312171:514312171&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+09%2C+1991&author=&pub=The+Record&desc=It's+almost+final+for+vinyl%3A+Record+manufacturers+dwindle+in+the+U.+S.&pqatl=google |date=16 January 2013 }}. ''Kitchener – Waterloo Record'' – Kitchener, Ont., 9 January 1991.</ref> Since the 1990s, records continue to be manufactured and sold on a smaller scale, and during the 1990s and early 2000s were commonly used by [[disc jockey]]s (DJs), especially in dance music genres. They were also listened to by a growing number of [[audiophile]]s. The phonograph record has made a niche resurgence
The phrase ''[[#Vinyl|broken record]]'' refers to a malfunction<ref name=BrokenRec.IW>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Information Week]]
Line 23:
|date=7 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service|quote=we have talked about this before, year in and year out|page=1137}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=My Pulse, His Will: Tragedy to Triumph That Echoed Her Faith|quote=Sometimes I must sound like a broken record, but repeating and teaching the kids consistency and how to|author=Jessica Lyngaas|year=2016}}</ref>
===
{{As of|2017}}, 48 record pressing facilities exist worldwide, 18 in the US and 30 in other countries. The increased popularity of the record has led to the investment in new and modern record-pressing machines.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/2017/02/warm-tone-record-press-hand-drawn-records/ Meet the Record-Pressing Robot Fueling Record's Comeback]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808000151/https://www.wired.com/2017/02/warm-tone-record-press-hand-drawn-records/ |date=8 August 2017 }}.</ref> Only two producers of lacquers ([[acetate disc]]s or master discs) remain: Apollo Masters in California, and MDC in Japan.<ref>[https://www.djbroadcast.net/article/98883/dont-call-it-vinyl-cutting Don't Call It Vinyl Cutting]. DJBROADCAST. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223042902/https://www.djbroadcast.net/article/98883/dont-call-it-vinyl-cutting |date=23 February 2017 }}.</ref> On 6 February 2020, a fire destroyed the Apollo Masters plant. According to the Apollo Masters website, their future is still uncertain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apollomasters.com/|title=Apollo Masters lacquer record discs|website=Apollomasters.com|access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> [[Hand Drawn Pressing]] opened in 2011 as the world's first fully automated record pressing plant.{{cn|date=July 2024}}
=== Naming ===
The various names have included '''phonograph record''' (American English), '''gramophone record''' (British English),
==Early development==
Manufacture of disc records began in the late 19th century, at first competing with earlier cylinder records. Price, ease of use and storage made the disc record dominant by the 1910s. The standard format of disc records became known to later generations as "78s" after their playback speed in revolutions per minute, although that speed only became standardized in the late 1920s. In the late 1940s new formats pressed in vinyl, the 45 rpm single and 33 rpm long playing "LP", were introduced, gradually overtaking the formerly standard "78s" over the next decade. The late 1950s saw the introduction of stereophonic sound on commercial discs.
Line 67:
[[File:Gloria G.O. 13078b.jpg|thumb|left|upright|An electronically recorded disc from [[Carl Lindström Company|Carl Lindström]] AG, Germany, {{circa|1930}}]]
During the first half of the 1920s, engineers at [[Western Electric]], as well as independent inventors such as [[Orlando R. Marsh|Orlando Marsh]], developed technology for capturing sound with a [[microphone]], amplifying it with [[vacuum tube]]s<ref name=40KYearsMusic>[[Jacques Chailley]] – ''40,000 Years of Music: Man in Search of Music – 1964 p. 144'', "On March 21st, 1925, Alfred Cortot made for the Victor Talking Machine Co., in Camden, New Jersey, the first classical recording to employ a new technique, thanks to which the gramophone was to play an important part in musical life: electric ..."</ref> (known as ''valves'' in the UK<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edisontechcenter.org/VacuumTubes.html|
A 1926 [[Wanamaker's]] ad in ''[[The New York Times]]'' offers records "by the latest Victor process of electrical recording".<ref>Wanamaker (16 January 1926). Wanamaker's ad in ''The New York Times'', 16 January 1926, p. 16.</ref> It was recognized as a breakthrough; in 1930, a ''Times'' music critic stated:
Line 87:
The playing time of a phonograph record is directly proportional to the available groove length divided by the turntable speed. Total groove length in turn depends on how closely the grooves are spaced, in addition to the record diameter. At the beginning of the 20th century, the early discs played for two minutes, the same as cylinder records.<ref name=Millard>{{cite book|last = Millard|first = Andre|url = https://archive.org/details/americaonrecordh0000mill |url-access = registration|page = [https://archive.org/details/americaonrecordh0000mill/page/353 353]|quote = record playing time.|title = America on Record: A History of Recorded Sound|publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]|date= 1995|isbn = 0-521-47556-2|via =[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> The 12-inch disc, introduced by Victor in 1903, increased the playing time to three and a half minutes.<ref name=Welch>{{cite book|last1=Welch|first1= Walter L. |last2= Burt|first2= Leah|title =From Tinfoil to Stereo: The Acoustic Years of the Recording Industry, 1877–1929 |publisher= University Press of Florida|date= 1994|isbn = 0-8130-1317-8}}</ref> Because the standard 10-inch 78 rpm record could hold about three minutes of sound per side, most popular recordings were limited to that duration.<ref name="WRD-20140711">{{cite magazine |last=Allain |first=Rhett |title=Why Are Songs on the Radio About the Same Length? |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/why-are-songs-on-the-radio-about-the-same-length/|date=11 July 2014 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=11 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140711190729/http://www.wired.com/2014/07/why-are-songs-on-the-radio-about-the-same-length/ |archive-date=11 July 2014 }}</ref> For example, when [[King Oliver]]'s Creole Jazz Band, including [[Louis Armstrong]] on his first recordings, recorded 13 sides at [[Gennett Records]] in Richmond, Indiana, in 1923, one side was 2:09 and four sides were 2:52–2:59.<ref>"Louis Armstrong and King Oliver", Heritage Jazz, cassette, 1993</ref>
In January 1938, [[Milt Gabler]] started recording for [[Commodore Records]], and to allow for longer continuous performances, he recorded some 12-inch discs. [[Eddie Condon]] explained: "Gabler realized that a jam session needs room for development." The first two 12-inch recordings did not take advantage of their capability: "Carnegie Drag" was 3m 15s; "Carnegie Jump", 2m 41s. But at the second session, on 30 April, the two 12-inch recordings were longer: "Embraceable You" was 4m 05s; "Serenade to a Shylock", 4m 32s.<ref>Eddie Condon, "We Called It Music", Da Capo Press, New York, 1992, p. 263–264. (Originally published 1947)</ref><ref>Back cover notes, "Jammin' at Commodore with Eddie Condon and His Windy City Seven...", Commodore Jazz Classics (CD), CCD 7007, 1988</ref> Another way to overcome the time limitation was to issue a selection extending to both sides of a single record. Vaudeville stars [[Gallagher and Shean]] recorded "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean", written by themselves or, allegedly, by Bryan Foy, as two sides of a 10-inch 78 in 1922 for [[Victor Records|Victor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.120841|title=Hits of the 1920s, Vol. 2 (1921–1923)|website=Naxos.com|access-date=10 April 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125145307/http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.120841|archive-date=25 January 2016}}</ref> Longer musical pieces were released as a set of records. In 1903 [[
In 1940, Commodore released [[Eddie Condon]] and his Band's recording of "[[A Good Man Is Hard to Find (song)|A Good Man Is Hard to Find]]" in four parts, issued on both sides of two 12-inch 78s. The limited duration of recordings persisted from their advent until the introduction of the [[LP record]] in 1948. In popular music, the time limit of {{frac|3|1|2}} minutes on a 10-inch 78 rpm record meant that singers seldom recorded long pieces. One exception is [[Frank Sinatra]]'s recording of [[Richard Rodgers|Rodgers]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein]]'s "[[Soliloquy (song)|Soliloquy]]", from ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'', made on 28 May 1946. Because it ran 7m 57s, longer than both sides of a standard 78 rpm 10-inch record, it was released on [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]'s Masterwork label (the classical division) as two sides of a 12-inch record.<ref>
In the 78 era, classical-music and spoken-word items generally were released on the longer 12-inch 78s, about 4–5 minutes per side. For example, on 10 June 1924, four months after the 12 February premier of ''[[Rhapsody in Blue]]'', [[George Gershwin]] recorded an abridged version of the seventeen-minute work with [[Paul Whiteman]] and His Orchestra. It was released on two sides of Victor 55225 and ran for 8m 59s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html|title=Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra|publisher=Redhotjazz.com|access-date=19 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105004806/http://www.redhotjazz.com/pwo.html|archive-date=5 January 2012}}</ref>
Line 107:
As a special release for [[Record Store Day]] 2011, Capitol re-released [[The Beach Boys]] single "[[Good Vibrations]]" in the form of a 10-inch 78-rpm record (b/w "Heroes and Villains"). More recently, [[The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band]] has released their tribute to blues guitarist [[Charley Patton]] ''Peyton on Patton'' on both 12-inch LP and 10-inch 78s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bigdamnband.com/peyton-on-patton |title=Peyton On Patton | Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band |website=Bigdamnband.com |date=5 May 2011 |access-date=10 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507125658/http://www.bigdamnband.com/peyton-on-patton |archive-date=7 May 2011 }}</ref>
== New sizes and materials
<!--"Vinyl record" redirects here.-->
{{see also|LP record}}
[[File:Cartridge macro shot.jpg|thumb|A 12-inch LP being played. The stylus is in contact with the surface.]]
[[File:12in-LP-Vinyl-Record-Macro-Grooves.jpg|thumb|Grooves on a modern 33 rpm record]]
[[File:Columbia7inch 001.jpg|thumb|Uncommon Columbia 7-inch vinyl {{
[[CBS Laboratories]] had long been at work for [[Columbia Records]] to develop a phonograph record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side.<ref>Goldmark, Peter. ''Maverick inventor; My Turbulent Years at CBS''. New York: Saturday Review Press, 1973.</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ben Sisario |author-link=Ben Sisario |title=Howard H. Scott, a Developer of the LP, Dies at 92 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/arts/music/howard-h-scott-a-developer-of-the-lp-dies-at-92.html |quote=Howard H. Scott, who was part of the team at Columbia Records that introduced the long-playing '''vinyl record''' in 1948 before going on to produce albums with the New York Philharmonic, Glenn Gould, Isaac Stern and many other giants of classical music, died on Sept. 22 in Reading, Pa. He was 92. ... |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=6 October 2012 |access-date=8 October 2012 }}</ref>
Line 120:
[[File:RCA 45 rpm phonograph and record Arthur Fiedler 1949.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Boston Pops]] conductor [[Arthur Fiedler]] demonstrating the new RCA Victor 45 rpm player and record in February 1949]]
Unwilling to accept and license Columbia's system, in February 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 rpm single, 7 inches in diameter with a large center hole. The 45 rpm player included a changing mechanism that allowed multiple disks to be stacked, much as a conventional changer handled 78s. Also like 78s, the short playing time of a single 45 rpm side meant that long works, such as symphonies and operas, had to be released on multiple 45s instead of a single LP, but RCA Victor claimed that the new high-speed changer rendered side breaks so brief as to be inconsequential. Early 45 rpm records were made from either vinyl or [[polystyrene]].<ref>Peter A Soderbergh, "Olde Records Price Guide 1900–1947", Wallace–Homestead Book Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1980, pp. 193–194.</ref> They had a playing time of eight minutes.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Trevor I. |title=A Short History of Twentieth-Century Technology, c. 1900
At first the two systems were marketed in competition, in what was called "''The War of the Speeds''".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://atlasrecords.co.uk/blogs/all-about-vinyl/the-war-of-the-speeds | title=The War of the Speeds | date=16 August 2022 }}</ref>
=== Speeds ===
====Shellac era====
[[File:EdisonDiscLabelBunk.jpg|thumb|left|Edison Records Diamond Disc label, early 1920s. [[Edison Disc Record]]s always ran at 80 rpm.]]
Line 142 ⟶ 141:
Columbia and RCA Victor each pursued their R&D secretly.<ref name="Popular Science 1949">{{Cite journal |last=Gorman |first=Robert |title=What's What in the Platter Battle |journal=Popular Science |volume=154 |issue=5 |pages=132–133 |date=May 1949 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZiQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA132 |issn=0161-7370 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation}}</ref>
The [[Seeburg Corporation]] introduced the [[Seeburg 1000|Seeburg Background Music System]] in 1959, using a {{
The commercial rivalry between RCA Victor and Columbia Records led to RCA Victor's introduction of what it had intended to be a competing vinyl format, the 7-inch (175 mm) 45 rpm disc, with a much larger center hole. For a two-year period from 1948 to 1950, record companies and consumers faced uncertainty over which of these formats would ultimately prevail in what was known as the "War of the Speeds" (see also [[Format war]]). In 1949 Capitol and Decca adopted the new LP format and RCA Victor gave in and issued its first LP in January 1950. The 45 rpm size was gaining in popularity, too, and Columbia issued its first 45s in February 1951. By 1954, 200 million 45s had been sold.<ref>Soderbergh, p. 194.</ref>
Eventually the 12-inch (300 mm) {{
[[File:45rpm.jpg|thumb|45 rpm vinyl record from 1965]]
Line 152 ⟶ 151:
The 45 rpm discs also came in a variety known as [[extended play]] (EP), which achieved up to 10–15 minutes play at the expense of attenuating (and possibly compressing) the sound to reduce the width required by the groove. EP discs were cheaper to produce and were used in cases where unit sales were likely to be more limited or to reissue LP albums on the smaller format for those people who had only 45 rpm players. LP albums could be purchased one EP at a time, with four items per EP, or in a boxed set with three EPs or twelve items. The large center hole on 45s allows easier handling by [[jukebox]] mechanisms. EPs were generally discontinued by the late 1950s in the U.S. as three- and four-speed record players replaced the individual 45 players. One indication of the decline of the 45 rpm EP is that the last [[Columbia Records]] reissue of [[Frank Sinatra]] songs on 45 rpm EP records, called ''Frank Sinatra'' (Columbia B-2641) was issued on 7 December 1959.<ref name="ReferenceA" />
From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, in the U.S. the common home record player or "stereo" (after the introduction of stereo recording) would typically have had these features: a three- or four-speed player (78, 45, {{
RCA Victor 45s were also adapted to the smaller spindle of an LP player with a plastic snap-in insert known as a "[[45 rpm adapter
[[Capacitance Electronic Disc]]s were [[videodisc]]s invented by RCA, based on mechanically tracked ultra-microgrooves (9541 grooves/inch) on a 12-inch conductive vinyl disc.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cedmagic.com/home/cedfaq.html#onethree |title=RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc FAQ |website=Cedmagic.com |access-date=7 May 2015 }}</ref>
===High fidelity===
Line 224 ⟶ 223:
: '''Notes:'''
:* Columbia pressed many 7-inch {{frac|33|1|3}} rpm vinyl singles in 1949, but they were dropped in early 1950 due to the popularity of the RCA Victor 45.<ref>Columbia Record Catalog 1950</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2019}}
:* Original hole diameters were 0.286″ ±0.001″ for {{frac|33|1|3}} and 78.26 rpm records, and 1.504″ ±0.002″ for 45 rpm records.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-NAB-Engineering/NAB-4th-Edition/Audio%20Recording--NAB-Engineering-4th-Edition.pdf|title=Supplement No. 2 to NAB (NARTB) Engineering Handbook; NARTB Recording and Reproducing Standards|date=1953}}</ref>
Line 236 ⟶ 235:
In the 1970s, the government of [[Bhutan]] produced now-collectible postage stamps on playable vinyl mini-discs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-curious-tale-of-bhutans-playable-record-postage-stamps |title=The curious tale of Bhutan's playable record postage stamps |publisher=The Vinyl Factory |date=30 December 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202235519/http://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-curious-tale-of-bhutans-playable-record-postage-stamps/ |archive-date=2 February 2017 }}</ref>
=== Recent developments ===
In 2018, an Austrian startup, Rebeat Innovation GmBH, received {{US$}}4.8 million in funding to develop high definition vinyl records that purport to contain longer play times, louder volumes and higher fidelity than conventional vinyl LPs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hogan |first=Marc |date=April 11, 2018 |title='High Definition Vinyl' Is Happening, Possibly as Early as Next Year |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/high-definition-vinyl-is-happening-possibly-as-early-as-next-year/ |access-date=December 17, 2018 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref> Rebeat Innovation, headed by CEO Günter Loibl, has called the format 'HD Vinyl'.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rose |first=Brent |date=April 20, 2018 |title=What Is HD Vinyl and Is It Legit? |url=https://gizmodo.com/what-is-hd-vinyl-and-is-it-legit-1825378987 |access-date=May 1, 2019 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref> The HD process works by converting audio to a digital 3D topography map that is then inscribed onto the vinyl stamper via lasers, resulting in less loss of information. Many critics have expressed skepticism regarding the cost and quality of HD records.<ref>{{cite web |last=Seppala |first=Timothy J. |date=April 26, 2018 |title=HD vinyl is a promise, not a product |url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/26/hd-vinyl-rebeat-innovations/ |access-date=December 17, 2018 |website=Endgadget}}</ref>
In May 2019, at the Making Vinyl conference in Berlin, Loibl unveiled the software "Perfect Groove" for creating 3D topographic audio data files.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 4, 2019 |title=HD Vinyl Takes Next Step with Debut of 3D Topography Software Perfect Groove |url=https://makingvinyl.com/hd-vinyl-takes-next-step-with-debut-of-3d-topography-software-perfect-groove/ |access-date=May 14, 2019 |website=Making Vinyl}}</ref> The software provides a map for laser-engraving for HD Vinyl stampers. The audio engineering software was created with mastering engineers [[Scott Hull (mastering engineer)|Scott Hull]] and [[Darcy Proper]], a four-time Grammy winner. The demonstration offered the first simulations of what HD Vinyl records are likely to sound like, ahead of actual HD vinyl physical record production. Loibl discussed the software "Perfect Groove" at a presentation titled "Vinyl 4.0 The next generation of making records" before offering demonstrations to attendees.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 2, 2019 |title=Making Vinyl Europe – Program – Meistersaal, Berlin |url=https://makingvinyl.com/program-berlin-2019/" |access-date=May 14, 2019 |website=Making Vinyl}}</ref>
==Structure==
Line 244 ⟶ 248:
===Vinyl quality===
The
It became commonplace to use recycled vinyl. New or "virgin" heavy/heavyweight (180–220 g) vinyl is commonly used for modern audiophile vinyl releases in all [[genre]]s. Many collectors prefer to have heavyweight vinyl albums, which have been reported to have better sound than normal vinyl because of their higher tolerance against deformation caused by normal play.<ref>Fritz, Jose. [http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2009/01/180-grams.html "180 grams "] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727033814/http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2009/01/180-grams.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |date=27 July 2011 }}, ''Arcane Radio Trivia'', 23 January 2009. Accessed 26 January 2009. "The basic measurement behind those grams is thickness. It's been said to be less noisy, which really has more to do with the grade of vinyl."</ref>
Following the [[vinyl revival]] of the 21st century, select manufacturers adopted [[bioplastic]]-based records due to concerns over the environmental impact of widespread PVC use.<ref name="Mcdill 2022">{{cite news |last1=Mcdill |first1=Stuart |title=Bioplastic records could help decarbonise music business, says developer |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/bioplastic-records-could-help-decarbonise-music-business-says-developer-2022-09-21/ |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=Reuters |publisher=Thomson Reuters Corporation |date=21 September 2022 |ref=Mcdill 2022}}</ref><ref name="Dredge 2023">{{cite news |last1=Dredge |first1=Stuart |title=Sonopress and WMG launch sustainable
==Limitations==
Line 268 ⟶ 272:
At the time of the introduction of the [[compact disc]] (CD) in 1982, the stereo LP pressed in vinyl continued to suffer from a variety of limitations:
The stereo image was not made up of fully discrete
Thin, closely spaced spiral grooves that allow for increased playing time on a {{frac|33|1|3}} rpm microgroove LP lead to a tinny pre-echo warning of upcoming loud sounds. The cutting stylus unavoidably transfers some of the subsequent groove wall's impulse signal into the previous groove wall. It is discernible by some listeners throughout certain recordings, but a quiet passage followed by a loud sound allows anyone to hear a faint pre-echo of the loud sound occurring 1.8 seconds ahead of time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=102&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&view=print |title=Audacity Team Forum: Pre-echo when recording vinyl record |publisher=Audacityteam.org |access-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609184049/http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=102&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&view=print |archive-date=9 June 2009 }}</ref>
Line 287 ⟶ 291:
As an alternative to playback with a stylus, a recording can be read optically, processed with software that calculates the velocity that the stylus would be moving in the mapped grooves and converted to a [[digital recording]] format. This does no further damage to the disc and generally produces a better sound than normal playback. This technique also has the potential to allow for reconstruction of broken or otherwise damaged discs.<ref>{{Cite journal | author1=Fadeyev, V. | author2=C. Haber | title=Reconstruction of mechanically recorded sound by image processing | journal=[[Audio Engineering Society]] | volume=51 | issue=December | year=2003 | page=1172 | url=http://www-cdf.lbl.gov/~av/JAES-paper-LBNL.pdf | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050525185435/http://www-cdf.lbl.gov/~av/JAES-paper-LBNL.pdf | archive-date=25 May 2005 }}</ref>
==
{{See also|Album era|Vinyl revival}}
[[File:Spooky.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[DJ]] mixing vinyl records with a [[DJ mixer]] at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in 2003]]
Groove recordings, first designed in the final quarter of the 19th century, held a predominant position for nearly a century—withstanding competition from [[reel-to-reel tape]], the [[8-track cartridge]], and the [[audio cassette|compact cassette]]. The widespread popularity of Sony's [[Walkman]] was a factor that contributed to the vinyl's lessening usage in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/musicmusingsandsuch/2019/5/26/feature-forty-years-of-the-sony-walkman-1st-july-1979-an-historic-and-iconic-day-for-music|title=FEATURE: Forty Years of the Sony Walkman: 1st July, 1979: An Historic and Iconic Day for Music|website=Music Musings & Such|access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref>
In 1988, the [[compact disc]] surpassed the gramophone record in unit sales. Vinyl records experienced a sudden decline in popularity between 1988 and 1991,<ref>Sources vary on the actual dates.</ref> when the major label distributors restricted their return policies, which retailers had been relying on to maintain and swap out stocks of relatively unpopular titles. First the distributors began charging retailers more for new products if they returned unsold vinyl, and then they stopped providing any credit at all for returns. Retailers, fearing they would be stuck with anything they ordered, only ordered proven, popular titles that they knew would sell, and devoted more shelf space to CDs and cassettes. Record companies also removed many vinyl titles from production and distribution, further undermining the availability of the format and leading to the closure of pressing plants. This rapid decline in the availability of records accelerated the format's decline in popularity, and is seen by some as a deliberate ploy to make consumers switch to CDs, which unlike today, were more profitable for the record companies.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |title=A Vinyl Farewell |date=4 October 1991 |issue=86 |last=Browne |first=David }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The World of DJs and the Turntable Culture|last=Souvignier|first=Todd|isbn=978-0-634-05833-2|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |date=2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofdjs00todd/page/41 41–42]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/worldofdjs00todd/page/41}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://urbigenous.net/library/negativland_shiny.html|title=Shiny, Aluminum, Plastic, and Digital|author=[[Negativland]] |via = urbigenous.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Romancing the Record: The Vinyl De-Evolution and Subcultural Evolution |journal=Journal of Popular Culture |volume=26 |issue=1 |page=110,112 |last=Plasketes |first=George |date=1992 |doi=10.1111/j.0022-3840.1992.00109.x }}</ref>
The more modern CD format held numerous advantages over the record such as its portability, [[digital audio]] and its elimination of background hiss and surface noise, instant switching and searching of tracks, longer playing time, lack of continuous degradation ([[Comparison of analog and digital recording|analog formats]] wear out as they get played),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rockwell |first=John |date=1985-03-10 |title=INVASION OF THE COMPACT DISKS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/10/arts/invasion-of-the-compact-disks.html |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> programmability (e.g. [[Shuffle play|shuffle]], repeat),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-29 |title=DEMYSTIFYING COMPACT DISC PLAYERS |url=https://www.deseret.com/1989/10/10/18827518/demystifying-compact-disc-players/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref> and ability to be played on and copied to a [[personal computer]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-09-04 |title=Stealth war against CD piracy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1524662.stm |access-date=2024-05-04 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In spite of their flaws, records continued to have enthusiastic supporters, partly due to a preference of its "warmer" sound and its larger sleeve artwork.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1998-07-19 |title=BBC News {{!}} ENTERTAINMENT {{!}} The non-compact disc turns 50 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/135027.stm |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Records continued to be format of choice by [[Disc jockey|disc jockeys]] in dance clubs during the 1990s and 2000s due to its better mixing capabilities.<ref name=":0" />
=== Revival era ===
A niche [[Vinyl revival|resurgence of vinyl records]] began in the late 2000s, mainly among rock fans.<ref>Swedish public service television teletext, 12.December.2016, page 150 {{cite web |title=SVT Text - Sida 150 |url=http://www.svt.se/svttext/tv/pages/150.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220144405/http://www.svt.se/svttext/tv/pages/150.html |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=12 December 2016}} in Swedish (original text) – ''"Allt fler köper vinylskivor. Trenden med att köpa vinylskivor fortsätter. Sedan 2006 har försäljningen globalt ökat från drygt 3,1 miljoner sålda exemplar jämfört med 31,5 miljoner sålda exemplar 2015. Trots att allt fler vinylskivor säljs är det dock bara en väldigt liten del av skivförsäljningen. I Sverige såldes det förra året 384.000 vinylskivor jämfört med 3.342.000 cd-skivor. De artister som säljer mest är oftast äldre artister och skivor. Mest såld i år är David Bowies sista skiva Black-star. Andra populära artister är Beatles, Led Zeppelin och Adele."'' – or in English – "More and more buy vinyl records. The trend to buy vinyl records continues. Since 2006 has the global sales increased from approximately 3.1 million sold records to 31.5 million in 2015. Despite this, is it still a small part of the total record sale. In Sweden was 384.000 vinyl records sold last year (=2015) compared to 3.342.000 CD records. The artists who sell most ar usually older artists and records.(comment - bad Swedish in original text is reflected and translated) Most sold in this year (=2016) was David Bowie's last record, ''Black-star''. Other popular artists are Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Adele" (a screenshot of the teletext page exist and can be uploaded, if allowed at Commons and if requested).</ref> The Entertainment Retailers Association in the United Kingdom found in 2011 that consumers were willing to pay on average £16.30 (€19.37, US$25.81) for a single vinyl record, as opposed to £7.82 (€9.30, US$12.38) for a CD and £6.80 (€8.09, US$10.76) for a [[Music download|digital download]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vinyl sales up 55% |url=http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/vinyl-sales-up-55/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322105005/http://thecmuwebsite.com/article/vinyl-sales-up-55/ |archive-date=22 March 2016 |access-date=10 April 2016 |publisher=Thecmuwebsite.com}}</ref> The resurgence accelerated throughout the 2010s<ref>{{cite news |date=15 April 2016 |title=Record Store Day: This is what happens inside a vinyl factory - BBC Newsbeat |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36044609/record-store-day-this-is-what-happens-inside-a-vinyl-factory |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418163716/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36044609/record-store-day-this-is-what-happens-inside-a-vinyl-factory |archive-date=18 April 2016 |access-date=8 January 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and in 2015 reached $416 million revenue in the US, their highest level since 1988.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vinyl Record Sales At A 28 Year High |url=http://fortune.com/2016/04/16/vinyl-sales-record-store-day/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220120543/http://fortune.com/2016/04/16/vinyl-sales-record-store-day/ |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=8 January 2017 |website=Fortune.com}}</ref> As of 2017 it comprised 14% of all physical album sales.<ref>{{cite web |title=2017 U.S. Music Year-End Report |url=https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/report/2018/2017-music-us-year-end-report |access-date=29 June 2019 |publisher=Nielsen}}</ref> According to the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]'s midyear report in 2020, phonograph record revenues surpassed those of CDs for the first time since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=10 September 2020 |title=Vinyl Outsells CDs For the First Time in Decades |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/vinyl-outsells-cds-for-the-first-time-in-decades/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200922170131/https://pitchfork.com/news/vinyl-outsells-cds-for-the-first-time-in-decades/amp/ |archive-date=22 September 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020 |work=}}</ref>
In 2021, [[Taylor Swift]] sold 102,000 copies of her ninth studio album ''[[Evermore (Taylor Swift album)|Evermore]]'' on vinyl. The sales of the record beat the largest sales in one week on vinyl since Nielsen started tracking vinyl sales in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Hugh |title=Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' Is The First Album To Sell 100,000 Vinyl Copies In One Week In U.S. History |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2021/06/07/taylor-swifts-evermore-is-the-first-album-to-sell-100000-vinyl-copies-in-one-week-in-us-history/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> The sales record was previously held by [[Jack White]] who sold 40,000 copies of his second solo release, ''[[Lazaretto (album)|Lazaretto]]'', on vinyl in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Leonie |date=2014-06-18 |title=Jack White breaks US vinyl sales record with 'Lazaretto' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jack-white-102-1247140 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Approximately 180 million LP records are produced annually at global pressing plants, as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leimkuehler |first=Matthew |title=How much did vinyl music sales grow in 2021? (Hint: a lot) |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/01/12/vinyl-music-sales-grow-2021/9168973002/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Less common recording formats ==
Line 443 ⟶ 318:
{{portal|Record production}}
* [[Capacitance Electronic Disc
* [[Conservation and restoration of vinyl discs]]
* [[
* [[LP record]]
* ''[[The New Face of Vinyl: Youth's Digital Devolution]]'' (photo documentary)
* [[Phonograph cylinder]]
Line 451 ⟶ 327:
* [[Sound recording and reproduction]]
* [[Unusual types of gramophone records]]
* [[Apollo Masters Corporation fire]]
==References==
Line 489 ⟶ 366:
==External links==
{{Commons category|Gramophone records}}
* How do vinyl record works at [https://vinyl-place.com/how-do-vinyl-records-work/ vinyl-place website]
* Playback equalization for 78 rpm shellacs and early LPs (EQ curves, index of record labels): [http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/78rpm_playback_curves Audacity Wiki]
* [https://archive.org/details/CommandP1942 The manufacturing and production of shellac records]. Educational video, 1942.
| |||