Since Thomas A. Edison recorded the human voice in 1877, the music industry has grappled with the uncertainties wrought by new technologies.
“The form changes, but the issues – who owns the music, what rights pertain to artists, what rights pertain to the companies – these are issues that go way back into the 19th century,” said Larry Starr, professor of music history at the University of Washington in Seattle and co-author of “American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV” (Oxford University Press, 2002).
The initial race to create a low-cost way to record and play back sound resulted in a number of competing companies. Many wound up merging forces around the turn of the 20th century, forming a stronghold that for the most part has been the locus of industry power for a hundred years. The RCA Music Group, part of the BMG unit of Bertelsmann; the EMI Group; and the Columbia Records unit of Sony are among the current music companies that have long, historic roots in the business. [more @ www.marinij.com]