SH Spotlight "The Immortal Voice" 1923 silent film on how phonograph records are made.

A lot!

 

That was FANTASTIC, watched the entire thing, twice.

What made it so amazing was to see the actual three-ply process being made. Columbia records didn't break like other companies because of that center core, that's why so many still survive from the 1920's on. In fact, they used that same process throughout the 1930s and 40s, way up until plastic was used in the 1950s.

Hard to believe that in just two years the bottom would fall out of the record industry thanks to the depression. Columbia struggled along, changing the wax color to BLUE, hoping that would increase sales but it really didn't. The "new" Columbia in 1938 came along and became a major player in the industry but the old Columbia had some of the greatest records and the QUIETEST surface records ever made.

In 1934 Jack Kapp formed American Decca and lowered the price of a single record to 35 cents, other companies did the same and (thanks mainly to the new Swing Era) the business was saved.

Please note: Stravinsky conducts “Petroushka” with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra is what you see being recorded there. Fantastic for me, I have the actual recording on an original 1928 pressing. So great to see it actually being recorded. What are the odds of that?

Thanks for posting!