Gramophone record

A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. Analogue audio recording onto a disc was the main technology used for the storing of recorded sound for most of the 20th century. By 1988 digital media such as the compact disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continue to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century, particularly for DJs doing live remixes and for local acts recording on small regional labels. Used records are still sold in decent numbers and remain a common part of many music collections. Most major releases still recieve a vinyl release, sometimes with bonus tracks and artwork.

Early history of the medium

A sound recording and reproduction device utilizing what were essentially disk records was described by Charles Cros of France in 1877 but never built. In 1878, Thomas Edison independently built the first working phonograph, a tinfoil cylinder phonograph, and the phonograph cylinder dominated the recorded sound market starting in the 1880s. Disc records were invented by Emile Berliner in 1888, and were used exclusively in toys until 1894, when Berliner began marketing disk records under the Berliner Gramophone label. In the mid-1910s, disk records overtook cylinders in popularity, and would dominate the market until the 1990s.

Related Topics:
Charles Cros - 1877 - 1878 - Thomas Edison - Phonograph cylinder - 1880s - Emile Berliner - 1888 - 1894 - Berliner Gramophone - 1910s - 1990s

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