Indeed, the lecture goes into some of the politics and corporate strategies used to establish a monopoly in the early days of the recorded music industry. How little things have changed...
The History of Recorded Music: The Re-emergence of the vinyl Record
I thought I would bring to the attention of fellow audiophiles a lecture given by the University of California Santa Barbara's library entitled The Redoubtable Disc record. It is sponsored by the UCSB's Early Recordings Initiative and is accessible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKBlvdOYpz8
This is a fascinating lecture that gives the history of recorded music, demonstrates the earliest playback machines and provides live demonstrations of what early recorded music sounded like at the turn of the 19th century. There is also a segment on the re-emergence of the vinyl record and a discussion of why this medium, despite its primitive origins, continues to thrive.
Many of us take for granted the excellent sound of our personal stereos. The road to how we got there is an interesting study.