Re: [ARSCLIST] "All hail the analogue revolution..."

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

Bob Olhsson wrote:
> Don Cox wrote:
> > The comparison when the first acoustic recordings appeared would be with
> > sheet music.
>
> It actually was the music box and the player piano.
>
> Compulsory mechanical reproduction licenses were the result of a massive lobbying effort by the player piano industry so that music publishers couldn't make an exclusive deal with one manufacturer for an extremely popular song. The two-cent statutory royalty only became negotiable under the 1970s copyright revision.

And the hurdy-gurdy. Verdi withheld the tenor's big tune from Rigoletto 
until the last moment, turning in "La donna e mobile" late enough that 
those attending the premiere would not have heard it on every street 
corner as they approached the theater.

In all of this, let us not forget how very expensive records were until 
well into the electric era. Even without inflation, a couple of dollars 
for a single side seems high, but that was the price for a premium title 
from Victor when a dollar a day was a substantial wage.

Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/