The Compact Disc

The compact disc, or CD, was one of the most revolutionary technologies of the 20th century. Like vinyl records and the Walkman before, the CD changed how music was consumed worldwide. It was first released in 1981, but it’s creation started in the 1960s by physicist, James Russell. As a frequent listener of records, Russell was irritated by vinyl records sub-par sound quality and tried to create a solution to increase the quality without damaging the record itself. After a number of failed solutions, Russell envisioned a way where the disc could be read using light. In 1965, Russell’s idea began research in the Battelle Memorial Institute but was met with skepticism by some of his fellow scientists. After a year of work, he was able to create the first digital to optical recording and playback system, which he patented in 1970. This would serve as the basis of CD technology. Once the main science behind the system was created, Russell continued to revise his progress and pitch it to investors. One day, while working for a venture capitalist, Russell was able to use his technology to create the first DVD and utilize his technology to play video as well. In 1982, Sony released its first CD player, giving Russell and Battelle Institute royalties.

The first rendition of the CD player was priced at around $1000, which in today’s dollars, is around $2840, and only came with around 20 albums at release. As the decade continued, CD player prices lowered, more albums were released, and more Americans would start to convert their recordsets to CD players. Finally, in 1991, CD sales surpassed records and cassettes. This was also in part due to the success of the Walkman’s new model, dubbed the Discman. Like its predecessor, the Discman made CD listening portable and became a staple for music listeners. Along with this, CD-R’s became a popular way for people to pirate and reproduce discs. They would sell as empty discs and allow owners to rip CD’s for their own personal use, or to sell illegally. This would lead to the invention of the CD-RW, which would allow people to rip hundreds of songs.

CD’s would maintain their position as the leader of music consumption, until the early 2000s, when digital music became more accessible. With websites like Napster having music online and the creation of the iPod in 2001, CD’s started to fade into obsolescence. In today’s world with streaming, CDs are virtually obsolete and haven’t been able to regain an audience Vinyl records. Stores such as Best Buy and Target only sell limited quantities of compact discs, but their impact on the music industry remains 39 years later.


Sources:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-history-of-the-cds-rise-and-fall/

https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Basis/compact_disc.html

https://pitchfork.com/features/photo-gallery/remember-the-discman-a-tribute-to-the-portable-music-players-of-1998/

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/948ceb02af3c406aba99711b4bf8cc2b