How a forgotten 1949 Format War shaped the future of records

Once upon a time the 45 and the LP were rival formats.
This video tells the story of how RCAs beef with Columbia ended up shaping the future of popular music.

This is a video about the Format War of 1949. Later developments like 12" 45s, EPs, 16RPM records, styrene singles and those 45s with a raised stepped ridge around the centre that aided grip when used on a stacker player didn't feature in this story because they were introduced after the conclusion of this 1949 format war chapter.

Regarding the question posed at the end - a few people have mentioned that the record players in their country had single adaptors. This was not unusual. I've demonstrated a few turntables on this channel with the built-in 45 adaptors. If your turntable didn't have a built in adaptor - you could buy one. However that's the result - not the cause. The records came first - the players accommodated the type of records sold in that country. A country could have chosen to go with small or large holes - the decision on which way they went was the thing of interest - what was the common denominator? Why was a large spindle hole chosen in Germany, but a small one in the UK?

We think we have an answer - it seems that Commonwealth countries went with the small hole and countries with a US armed forces presence after the war were more inclined towards the large hole. However if you know any other info on this - please share.

Links to things mentioned in the video:

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[ajwilson]

The use of large hole 45's in Europe is simple to explain. After WWII, the US military had bases all over the European continent. Manning these bases were American servicemen who would bring their 45's and players from home, only to discover that the electrical differences, not only voltage, but frequency, would make all their popular music on 45's unplayable. The enterprising Europeans would then make players that would play 45's properly in their countries. The transfer of "technology" would result in European record companies adopting the 45 standard to allow records bought in Europe to be taken back to the US. My uncle brought back a beautiful Grundig stereo that he purchased while stationed in Germany. It will play 33, 45, 78, and 16 RPM records. The Germans didn't leave anything out. It required modifications once he got it to the US, but it still plays it's in my living room now.

[danajorgensen]

You didn't even touch upon the greatest oddity of this format war: "33+45=78".

[Lucius]

An odd omission on the history of "long-playing" records: Edison created a super-microgroove (450 TPI) disc, and put it on the market in 1926. It played at 80 rpm, and could hold from 12 (on a 10 inch disc) to 20 minutes (12 inch) of music per side.

It was not a commercial success, though: partly because they had to rely on dubbing from regular 5 minute masters; and partly because Edison refused to use electric pickup and amplification. Hence, to get any sort of volume, the reproducer had to be extremely heavy; and all that weight on a tiny diamond stylus on a microscopic groove was more than the Condensite record could stand for very long. Most surviving Edison "LP"s are found with damaged grooves, causing skips and repeats.

[johnstone]

Excellent video. A couple of points to add: RCA nearly dropped the entire 45 RPM program in the early 50's. As you pointed out, they really were on the defensive, putting out ridiculous bullet points like the one you referenced, that blamed everyone for being too stupid to recognize the obvious superiority of their format over the LP. But they were getting a lot of heat from their artists too, so it was having a major impact on their hardware and software sales. What saved them was Seeburg. They had been in a long competition with Wurlitzer for the jukebox market, which Wurlitzer dominated throughout the 1940's. Seeburg was looking for a way to beat Wurlitzer, who had the best looking machines, but whose 20 play 78 mechanism had become obsolete. Operators were looking for more selections, and Seeburg had come out with a 100 play 78 mechanism in 1949. But it still had the problem of the small hole shellac records which were easily worn and didn't always work well in the mechanism. When Seeburg saw the 45, they saw their opening for a "Wurlitzer killer" and they introduced the M100B jukebox in 1951. That was the last time Wurlitzer held the top position in the marketplace. It also helped to really expose the 45 record as the format of choice for singles to the public. Jukeboxes were everywhere back in those days, and the mechanisms were highly visible. The vertical play format on the Seeburgs was like "magic". All this exposure really helped propel the 45RPM record into the mainstream. A good book that goes into this story is "Jukebox Saturday Night" by J.L. Krivine.

[bobholt]

That was one of your best videos about the history of old tech. I learned some things today. :)

[davidwatson]

I believe that the 33 LP also pushed the artists to right more good songs. People were reluctant to buy an entire LP if it only had a couple good songs on it when they could by the single for much less.

[hyzercreek]

At 19:47 you ask a question and I have the answer. The term "Blues and Rhythm" was coined in 1948 by RCA to replace "race records". In 1949 Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records (he says in a much later interview) switched it to Rhythm and Blues and thought it sounded better, and Ahmet agreed so they used that term. Atlantic was by far the biggest producer of records for blacks, RCA was behind them and a dozen indie labels that made records for black people, like King and Specialty and Chess and Federal and DeLuxe and Decca and sooo many others. They all grouped together and used the Atlantic Records term, and forgot RCA term, and in June of 1949 Billboard changed their list from Harlem Hit Parade to Rhythm and Blues, everybody thought RCA was for squares (whites) anyway. However, I have a 1990s RCA compilation of their black records of late 40s and early 50s, and they called it RCA Blues and Rhythm! You should seek out that CD it's fantastic. RCA recorded lots of R&B but failed to promote it, trying to find a white guy who could sing R&B instead, and buried that catalogue in '56 to promote Elvis. I know the English magazine called Blues and Rhythm, I wrote for them even. I'm guessing they use the RCA term on purpose and I'm sure they are aware of it.

[DejanTesic]

Fantastic overview of old audio media!
The coloured 45s are just gorgeous!

[misterhoeflak]

You've really made a mini-documentary here. Very interesting viewing, thank you. I grew up in the Netherlands until 1987 and I remember buying new 7" releases with large holes as late as 1986, although some did have small holes, so it may have depended on the record company and/or where the record was pressed.

[Kevin-wjdo]

Not many channels can make a 38 minute video that keeps you engaged for the whole time! Thanks and keep putting out this great content!

[_afw_]

A 38 Minute Techmoan Video? Christmas comes early this year 😎

[bfbsmm]

As well as the raised centres, in the 50s and 60s most UK singles also had a raised serrated rim around the label. The serrations were to stop the top records on a changer from sliding on the records underneath. It helped lock them in place. Great video!

[Schnozinski]

Why wasn't blues on a blue vinyl? Those maniacs.

[dekjn]

Found pressed into the vinyl of a single bought a long time ago "if you were born in 45 in 78 you will be 33 1/3" :-)

[Fifury]

33:30 - Pink Floyd even included a helpful reminder in the song "Please turn me over" and recorded other parts - the first line is "We came in" and the last line is "isn't this where", so when played back to back it creates a continuous loop - funny guys!

[andreasu.]

Looking at how that RCA 45 rpm player has grooves on the turntable, I think it would have been cool if they had made those grooves to be actual record grooves, playing a message like "hey, you forgot to put a record on. Please put a record on now".

[golfman]

A lot of 45s also had raised "teeth" around the outer edge of the label
to avoid slipping when stacked. Another really interesting full of facts
Techmoan vid, excellent, cheers Matt.

[Akbar_Friendly_in_Cherno]

What a wonderfully informative video. This just sent me down the rabbit hole of 2 + hours of Lac and record manufacturing process videos. This is my favorite channel on YouTube right now.

[michaelmartin]

"Our formats better that that format"
"Oh hey we're a third company who just made our turntable able to play at different speeds and machined a spindle adapter, now you can play both".
That's honestly how all format wars ought to go.

[ArkaidDeims]

You just blew my mind with the origin of the word "album"