In today's world, most people listen to music on Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Music. Before streaming services like these, there have been many other technologies used to listen to music, but they can all trace their origins back to the record player. The vinyl record itself was the first purchasable music medium. Prior to the record player, music listeners only had the radio, and you could only listen to what they happened to be playing at the time. With just the radio, you could only listen to what was being broadcast at that time, but with a vinyl record, you could choose what to listen to and when. Record players were a significant advancement in communication technology because they revolutionized the way people receive audio information.
The record player made it so the average consumer did not have to go anywhere and could stay in the comfort of their own home to listen to music. They could also hear other auditory things such as speeches without having to be there in person or listen to the radio. Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, and then ten years later in 1887, invented the Gramophone. This would eventually turn into what people today would recognize as a record player, invented by Emile Berliner (Richard). Although Berliner had many inventions, the turntable was one of their most important contributions (Richard). The first version of what people today would call a record player was made in 1895, and although popular upon release, it clashed with radio when it was invented (Richard). The record player as a product challenged the market that radio had at that time because it offered listeners a choice in what to listen to without the interruptions of commercials. Many people still enjoy listening to music on record players today, and more recent record players have implemented new technology to make them easier for modern listeners to use (Richard).
After the record player, the next major innovation in music technology that was invented was cassette tapes. This new technology could store a lot more music while also being more portable and less easily damaged or corrupted (Kendall). On top of this, the cassette tape also offered music listeners the ability to make a customizable playlist. This is a feature that was not available to the vinyl medium itself. After this, floppy discs and CDs made music digital and even more easily accessible (Kendall). These technologies all led to streaming, which is the main way that people listen to music today. Although other music technology has made great advances in the past century since the inception of the record player, I think that the record player is still important to preserve because it was the first technology of its kind and has a different and unique sound compared to its modern counterparts that some people prefer. In recent years, Vinyl sales have increased despite the ease of streaming (Thomas). Part of this is because people think that record players produce a better sound quality than modern streaming services do, often saying the sound is “warmer”, as well as enjoying the experience of physically pulling out a record and putting it on the turntable versus just pressing a button (Thomas). The sound of a vinyl record provides for listeners a nostalgic effect which recalls in the listener’s minds a bygone era.
One of the benefits vinyl records have over modern streaming services is the fact that artists are compensated directly per record sale. This means that fans can contribute directly to the artists they enjoy listening to by purchasing a vinyl record whereas with certain streaming services, the method of compensation is much more complicated and fans can not contribute directly to the artists they listen to. However, Spotify allows artists to get their music out there to a wider audience than they would normally be able to reach. This extended reach is because of Sopify’s ability to recommend lesser known artists to fans who might not have otherwise found their music themselves. Clearly, there are both positive and negative aspects of online streaming services and, with multiple listening options, it is up to the audience to decide how they want to listen to the artists they enjoy.
Since the popularity of vinyl records in the 50’s and 60’s, the genres of available music have expanded. Listening experiences have expanded past just the auditory to include visual production. This meant that instead of just listening to music on vinyls and CDs you could produce music videos and watch them on TV or Youtube. Around the time that music videos started emerging certain genres of music like rap and hip hop were using the medium of vinyl to create a unique sound. These features of the record player have become a unique tool to allow musicians to emphasize the physical properties of the record. By touching the record musicians allowed you to hear repetition and scratching sounds that became a feature of hip hop and rap. These innovations show the impact that record players and vinyls have had on the evolution of the history of music.
The record player had a massive effect on the accessibility and dissemination of information. It is hard for people today to imagine a world without mass media, but before this, only written information on physical copies could be disseminated easily to consumers. Before the record player, there was no way to listen to music or hear speeches unless you were there in person, or heard it broadcast over the radio. With the invention of the record player, suddenly, these experiences became more accessible and widespread than ever before, affecting the way that music and other auditory experiences were made forever (Richard). Although other technologies made this effect even greater, the record player was the first and had a profound effect still felt today. These changes to mass auditory information changed the way that information was received and perceived by others as well as the way that it was manufactured and created. These changes meant that more people would be invested in and receive the same information in the same package.
Although I love the record player, I do also have an appreciation for other music technology. My mom has a CD-player that is very antique looking along with CDs that she has collected since getting the CD-player. Through the years I have also begun my own collection of Taylor Swift CDs. Although she has changed through different musical genres throughout the years, Taylor Swift’s lyrics have remained consistent and they always made me feel understood. I started collecting her CDs when I was young and the first time I heard of her was in her country era. Picture to Burn was the first song I remember hearing. It would be playing on the radio or on the television. The CDs give me a nostalgic feeling. I would buy all of them and listen to them on my computer on repeat when I was younger.
My love for CDs shows that other music technologies have some advantages over a record player in terms of functionality. For example, most technologies that came after the record player are much smaller and more portable. This makes it easier to transport music with you. For example, if you wanted to bring music to play at a party, instead of bringing a box full of records, you could bring your CDs or an MP3 player. In addition to the issue of portability, there are also issues of accessibility. It is clearly much easier to download music on your phone as opposed to purchasing or ordering a physical vinyl record. Vinyl records are much more expensive to obtain as opposed to having a Spotify or Apple Music subscription.
While there are certain benefits to modern music technology, there are certain qualities that records provide to music listeners that digital media does not provide. For example, records are a tangible item that can be physically held and collected. The experience of shopping for vinyls is also fun for many people. The aesthetic of vinyls are also a large draw for myself. As well, if you have a good speaker, vinyls have a nice sound quality (Stegner). As well, there is evidence that having a vinyl player helps to improve your music taste (Stegner). Record players have an important place in our history and are still important to this day. I think a world without portable music would be a boring and lonely world to live in. Having portable music has impacted my life greatly because I can take music with me wherever I go. Music has always been there for me through ups and downs, and this is possible through technological innovations in portable music, all of which can be traced back to the vinyl player.
Works Cited
Richard, David. “History of Record Players (a Look at 100 Fascinating Years) | Top Record Players.”
Top Record Players, 18 July 2019, toprecordplayers.com/history-of-record-players/.
Kendall, Jaclyn. “From Discs to Digital: The Odd History of Music Formats | LANDR Blog.”
LANDR Blog, 2 Oct. 2017, blog.landr.com/music-formats-history/.
Thomas, Christian. “Is Vinyl Better than Streaming?” SoundGuys, 19 May 2021,
Stegner, Ben. “Vinyl vs. Digital Music: 5 Reasons Why Digital Is Better.” MUO, 12 May 2020,
UCAYA. “Soundcharts | Market Intelligence for the Music Industry.” Soundcharts.com, 2019,