what year did barcodes start being used on records?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Greg(ory), Nov 6, 2010.

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  1. Greg(ory)

    Greg(ory) Some Stupid With A Space Gun Thread Starter

    Location:
    (Massachusetts)
    anyone know?
     
  2. Saint Johnny

    Saint Johnny Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asbury Park
    IIRC, it was sometime in early 1980.

    As I remember it, there was some type of controversy over the cover of Springsteen's the River. Whether or not Bruce would allow them to put the UPC on. Well it came out in the beginning of November of 1980 with a barcode.
     
  3. peter

    peter Senior Member

    Location:
    Paradise
    It varied by country and by record label. Born in the USA in the Uk did NOT have a bar code on it when it was first released in 1984, though good luck to anyone trying to find one. I had one and stolen from me. I now have a Dutch orig. BITUSA and it too does not have a bar code.

    However, some record companies in the USA did indeed start using them in 1980, though I did not realize The River was one of the early titles.

    For the record, Kate Bush's "The Dreaming" does exits in the UK without a bar code, though again, try finding one.
     
  4. GV1967

    GV1967 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeastern US
    I HATED when those ugly bar codes showed up on the Beatles LP covers.
     
  5. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...


    IIRC, Neil Young also was pissed off when they put one (or tried to) on his LP when UPCs were first being used.
    .
     
  6. telliott

    telliott Senior Member

    IMO, Bar codes ruined the design of 45 labels!

    Tim
     
  7. serge

    serge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    I always think 1980-81 but it did vary by label...
     
  8. den0iZer

    den0iZer Forum Resident

    They start in former Czechoslovakia in 1988
     
  9. mbleicher1

    mbleicher1 Tube Amp Curmudgeon

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    Anybody know when Columbia did? I bought a minty LP of the Claude Bolling-Jean Pierre Rampal "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano" album recently, and it has a barcode on the back. Barcodes have nothing to do with whether it was cut using DMM or not, correct? (I.e., they didn't necessarily correspond with a move toward that process)
     
  10. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    CBS started to use them in late 1983.

    Atlantic started using them in 1987.
     
  11. shutuplittleman

    shutuplittleman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    In 1975, Albert Brooks released his second (and, alas, last) comedy album, A STAR IS BOUGHT. The premise was that, in an attempt to make the album a huge seller, each cut was intended for a different radio format (country, top 40, classical, etc.) In short, the record was intended to be a complete commercial selling-out.

    And as a "joke," there was even a barcode on the cover.

    Don't know if it really counts, but it was probably the first album to ever sport one.
     
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  12. gillcup

    gillcup Senior Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC, USA
    The earliest album I have with a barcode is Elvis Costello's Armed Forces which I purchased when it first came out (with the EP) in 1979.

    Mark
     
  13. JulesDassin

    JulesDassin Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    monterey,ca.usa
    I could be wrong wrong but i thought this was the very first one from july 1980
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. Wilkie

    Wilkie New Member

    Location:
    Richmond, VA, USA
    In the thread Bar Codes - What is the issue?, there are some other early examples. There is also a Billboard article giving an overview on where the major labels stood on the issue at that time.

    He got a Grammy nomination for that album. In December 1975 he did a short film for Saturday Night Live (the episode with Richard Pryor)...in the film Albert used the album as a prop, and tried to say the name of the label and title, but it kept getting bleeped. He got in a bunch of jabs at the label though. Here's my copy showing the unofficial UPC on the back:

    [​IMG]
     
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  15. TSmithPage

    TSmithPage Ex Post Facto Member

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    I worked in a record store from 1985-1990, and bar codes were uncommon at best when I started but par for the course by the time I left, so I'd say they were largely rolled out during that 5 year period.
     
  16. telliott

    telliott Senior Member

    When did your store install a scanner at the check out?
     
  17. TSmithPage

    TSmithPage Ex Post Facto Member

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    As I recall, sometime around 87 or 88 but they also used stickers that had bar codes on them and that is generally what would be scanned. One thing that sticks in my mind is going from having LPs in the returns bin with no codes on them to having nothing but codes. The more I think about it, the more likely the time frame of 86 or 87 seems most likely. By the time we were phasing out LPs for CDs, most everything had bar codes on it.
     
  18. den0iZer

    den0iZer Forum Resident

    I would enhance the question and add: What was the last time you see an album without barcode? :)
     
  19. Emberglow

    Emberglow Senior Member

    Location:
    Waterford, Ireland
    Stiff Little Fingers - Nobody's Heroes (1980)

    [​IMG]
     
  20. -Ben

    -Ben Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington DC Area
  21. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

  22. bystander

    bystander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    that's the very first one I remember too, I saw it at Tower Records at columbus & bay when it was a highly anticipated new release... at the time I thought the curious bar code was maybe part of the artwork as some sort of "consumerist" statement.
     
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  23. Bruce

    Bruce Senior Member

    Location:
    Florida
    I believe Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces" was the 1st in the USA
     
  24. Emberglow

    Emberglow Senior Member

    Location:
    Waterford, Ireland
    I've just checked my UK first pressing of Elvis Costello & The Attractions Armed Forces (Radar Records RAD 14) and there's no barcode on the album or the EP

    I'm sure that barcodes were in use in the US before they became common in Europe
     
  25. PatrickO'Donnell

    PatrickO'Donnell Active Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    A fair amount of independent labels don't use them, or go the route of having a barcode sticker on the packaging. Barcodes have also become less obtrusive over the years, you no longer have to have a big white block on the back of your record.
     
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