From Cave Paintings to the Internet A Chronological and Thematic Database on the History of Information and Media Sound / Video Recording Outline

Earliest Sound Recordings, without Playback
(1860)

Invention of the Microphone
(March 4, 1877)

Edison Invents the Phonograph
(August 12, 1877)

The Loose-Contact Carbon Microphone
(1878)

Edison Describes Future Uses for his Phonograph
(June 1878)

The Flat Disc Gramophone
(1887)

The Oldest Surviving Magnetic Audio Recording
(1900)

The First Hi-Fi Sound Recording
(1924)

Invention of Magnetic Tape
(1927)

The First Practical Tape Recorder
(1935)

The First Long Playing Record (LP)
(1948)

The First Rock and Roll Recording, Named After First American Muscle Car?
(March 3 – March 5, 1951)

The Oldest Known Recordings of Computer Music
(Circa November 1951)

One of the Earliest Surviving British Television Dramas
(December 12 – December 14, 1954)

The First Video Tape Recorder
(1956)

The CD is Developed
(1976 – 1982)

The First Speech Synthesis Chip
(June 11, 1977)

Voice Over Internet Protocol
(1998)

MP3
(1998)

Napster
(June 1999)

An Injunction Against Napter to Prevent Trading of Copyrighted Music
(March 5, 2001)

iPod Launched
(October 23, 2001)

Apple Opens the iTunes Store
(April 28, 2003)

"Broadcast Yourself"
(February 2005)

File-Sharing Exceeds Sales of Digital Music Downloads
(January 22, 2006)

Over One Billion Downloads
(February 22, 2006)

The Biggest Music Retailer in the World: Apple's iTune Store
(April 23, 2006)

Five Billion Songs
(June 2008)

Europeana, the European Digital Library, Museum and Archive
(November 20, 2008)

Downloads Trump CDs
(November 25, 2008)