[ARSCLIST] Harmony acoustics, 1925

[Dick Spottswood <dick@xxxxxxxx>]

Harmony was launched in the summer of 1925 as a budget label.  It retailed 
at $0.50 (I think) and slightly more west of the Rockies.   Columbia's 
electrically-made products required royalty payments to Westen Electric. 
Harmony (and spin-offs Velvet Tone and Diva)  didn't require royalties and 
allowed acoustic recording equipment from becoming obsolete, at least for 
a few years.  Vocalion also became a budget label for a few months in 
1925, retailing acoustically made discs for fifty cents until 10/22/1925, 
when the first electric masters for Vocalion were made. The price soon 
went back to 0.75. 

Dick




George Brock-Nannestad <pattac@xxxxxxxx> 
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10/23/2006 02:23 PM
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Re: [ARSCLIST] Early Polydor electrics, the depression, etc






From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad

Hello,

Steven Smolian wrote (snipped)

> I have no documentation to prove it but feel certain that the reason 
> Columbia made paralell recordings acoustically to their electrics, the 
> former issued on Harmony, was to cater to the old wind-up market.
> 

----- I have always thought that when Frank Andrews in his discography of 
10" 
English Columbia records speaks about "electrical re-recording" in 1925 he 

means taking the acoustic record, playing it and creating a new 
electrically 
recorded master, while retaining the old catalogue number.  So I never 
thought that they were making parallel recordings 

----- someone with a better collection than mine (or better finding aids) 
may 
be able to confirm this - there is a chance of a change in the background 
noise at the beginning of the electrical one (if in pristine condition) 

----- on the other hand, I would prefer positive proof that parallel 
sessions 
were used.

Kind regards,

George