Dead Media
While radio only lasted for a couple decades as a living-room focal point, recorded audio media have been around for much longer. It’s fun to interact with youngsters puzzled at the sight of a compact disc, cassette tape, or a phonograph record. When I was young, they tried to dazzle us with 78 records and eight-track tapes. But none of us alive today would have known what to make of a wax cylinder that marked the first round of the recorded sound technology.
Images recorded in photographs go back to the 19th century, and so do recorded sounds. From today’s perspective, these were technologies of the early industrial revolution, of the steam-powered era. Gramophones and similar early devices were powered by springs and flywheels wound up by hand rather than electric motors, which still awaited development.
Technological progress has marched along in the background since the advent of the Industrial Revolution at the latest. The idea that technology would be mass produced for household use would have been surprising 150 years ago. The idea that technology would be mass produced for the purpose of individual amusement surely would never have occurred to anyone back then.
How did audio technology change society? I have had a pet theory that songwriting wouldn’t have been a possible career without recordings. Before then, copyright on music was unenforceable. The most popular songwriters of the 19th century were best known for their penury. Musicians have a knack for copying each other, after all. And the ones who could entertain an audience were the ones who got paid, not the ones who merely wrote the tune or lyrics. Audio musical recordings made it possible for individual performers to reach a wider audience of paying listeners. They could make enough money to afford songwriters. They could work on a larger scale.
I’ve heard about 19th century songwriters failing to make money by publishing their tunes, because copycats just aped the music as soon as they heard it. Nickel sheet music, for instance, was published at a loss, and hit songwriters couldn’t live off of their creations. Copyright couldn’t be enforced because music couldn’t be reproduced faithfully. Without audio recordings, how a thing sounded that you heard in the past was based strictly on feeble human memory. Who could even tell that a theft had taken place?
That’s my pet theory, or maybe it’s more of a hunch. Is there a conclusion? Maybe just a glib observation: technology changes things subtly and on a vast scale while we don’t even notice.
I remember reading about wax cylinders in Dracula. In that book, Dr. Seward records a diary on them.
I didn’t really think about it then, but it seems like an interesting piece of technology.
Hi All
Today is World Bee Day, Wear Red sneakers Day ( for support for people with food allergies) & Pick Strawberries Day ( I just bought some , way easier...lol...we used to when I was young have a local place that grew them that you could pick I did it a few times).
I am grateful a lot of technology and how it created entertainment and made my life easier.
I am on th emend, still lingering, and may for a couple more weeks, but, it is a lot better.
And, I finally got paid...YIPPEE, now I have to pay bills and try to get late fees waived.
Going to due that later or tomorrow, as the money won't appear in my account till Monday morning.
Have a great Saturday!