Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939)
The record industry grew rapidly between 1900 and 1914. Although record production was concentrated in the largest industrialised countries, companies set out to create a global market by recording songs in all major languages. Typically, they sent their engineers on expeditions which took them to m...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hrvatsko muzikološko društvo / Croatian Musicological Society
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Arti Musices |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/421924 |
| _version_ | 1797206589848944640 |
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| author | Pekka Gronow Risto Pekka Pennanen |
| author_facet | Pekka Gronow Risto Pekka Pennanen |
| author_sort | Pekka Gronow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The record industry grew rapidly between 1900 and 1914. Although record production was concentrated in the largest industrialised countries, companies set out to create a global market by recording songs in all major languages. Typically, they sent their engineers on expeditions which took them to major European cities. They made recordings with local artists selected by the company’s local representatives. The recording masters were shipped to a factory to be processed, and the finished pressings sent back to local retailers. The paper will discuss in detail the activities of the Gramophone Company (UK), which made at least 500 recordings in Zagreb and Osijek between 1902 and 1913. The company had several competitors, including the German Lindström group (Odeon, Beka, Parlophon) and Pathé in France, and their activities will also be considered. The Great War caused a break in recording, but after the war the companies returned. Gramophone was back in Zagreb in 1924, and the Germans followed. A new peak in global record sales was reached in 1929.
Meanwhile, American record companies, especially Victor and Columbia, created large catalogues of »foreign-language« records for immigrants, including Croatian-Americans. They also issued material recorded by their European associates, such as Gramophone Co., for the American market. The early record industry had been dominated by a small number of multi-national companies which held the basic patents on recording technology. After World War I, local enterprises also entered the market, as independent record companies were started in smaller countries such as Sweden (Sonora), Latvia (Bellaccord), Czechoslovakia (Esta) and Yugoslavia (Edison Bell Penkala). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:09:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6224f40e026546aeb3cadbfb9be0b8e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0587-5455 1848-9303 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:09:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Hrvatsko muzikološko društvo / Croatian Musicological Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arti Musices |
| spelling | doaj.art-6224f40e026546aeb3cadbfb9be0b8e92024-04-15T18:14:38ZengHrvatsko muzikološko društvo / Croatian Musicological SocietyArti Musices0587-54551848-93032022-01-0153221923610.21857/94kl4clq6mZagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939)Pekka Gronow0Risto Pekka Pennanen1Uniarts Helsinki’s History Forum, Helsinki, FinlandUniarts Helsinki’s History Forum, Helsinki, FinlandThe record industry grew rapidly between 1900 and 1914. Although record production was concentrated in the largest industrialised countries, companies set out to create a global market by recording songs in all major languages. Typically, they sent their engineers on expeditions which took them to major European cities. They made recordings with local artists selected by the company’s local representatives. The recording masters were shipped to a factory to be processed, and the finished pressings sent back to local retailers. The paper will discuss in detail the activities of the Gramophone Company (UK), which made at least 500 recordings in Zagreb and Osijek between 1902 and 1913. The company had several competitors, including the German Lindström group (Odeon, Beka, Parlophon) and Pathé in France, and their activities will also be considered. The Great War caused a break in recording, but after the war the companies returned. Gramophone was back in Zagreb in 1924, and the Germans followed. A new peak in global record sales was reached in 1929. Meanwhile, American record companies, especially Victor and Columbia, created large catalogues of »foreign-language« records for immigrants, including Croatian-Americans. They also issued material recorded by their European associates, such as Gramophone Co., for the American market. The early record industry had been dominated by a small number of multi-national companies which held the basic patents on recording technology. After World War I, local enterprises also entered the market, as independent record companies were started in smaller countries such as Sweden (Sonora), Latvia (Bellaccord), Czechoslovakia (Esta) and Yugoslavia (Edison Bell Penkala).https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/421924Croatiamusicrecord industryhistoryimmigrants |
| spellingShingle | Pekka Gronow Risto Pekka Pennanen Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) Arti Musices Croatia music record industry history immigrants |
| title | Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) |
| title_full | Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) |
| title_fullStr | Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) |
| title_short | Zagreb, London, Berlin, New York: The Origins of the Record Industry in Croatia (1902-1939) |
| title_sort | zagreb london berlin new york the origins of the record industry in croatia 1902 1939 |
| topic | Croatia music record industry history immigrants |
| url | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/421924 |
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