Analysis Of 1920's Vernacular Music

There were reasons other than supply and demand that caused the silencing of America’s vernacular music until 1920. The two dominant record labels, the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records, both controlled the patent for the industry-standard lateral-cut 78-rpm disc and marketed their product as one of cultural uplift. The third largest record label of the era, Edison Records, also focused on their less popular vertical machine’s place in the cultural hierarchy, that they missed an incredible opportunity to fill a void in the marketplace. It wasn’t until 1919, when several small record labels both challenged the validity of the patents held by Victor and Columbia and identified a void in the marketplace that America’s vernacular

While they fought in court, both companies exercised their exclusive rights to their intellectual property and denied the use of the lateral technology to most of the newer companies that requested it. The series of court cases were often very complex and the outcomes contradictory. The first major patent suit to adjudicate the Joseph W. Jones (purchased by Columbia) and Eldridge Johnson (Victor) patent claims was American Graphophone Company v. Universal Talking Machine Company in 1907. The American Graphophone Company was the parent company of Columbia. The court upheld the validity of the Jones’ patent, now owned by Columbia. All evidence showed Jones adapted the lateral grooves to flat discs on wax successfully first. Judge Townsend of the Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit stated, “The disc produced by the patented process [of Jones] responds to the test of success where others failed. But, in addition to this inventive success, it is also a commercial success.” Judge Townsend differentiated between an idea and its successful execution. While Johnson’s amended patent proved he notated the idea first, it was Jones who first perfected the process adopted by the industry. Soon after, Johnson and The Victor Talking Machine Company pooled their patents

The third largest record company at the time, Edison Records, attempted to make vertical cut 78s a viable option for consumers. Thomas Edison’s label converted from cylinders to flat 78-rpm discs in 1910. Even though Edison tried to be a major player and focused on superior sound on his discs, it was too little, too late. The major stumbling block was phonographs played either lateral or vertical discs. The majority of the public purchased phonographs that played lateral discs because of the ubiquity of Victor and Columbia’s retail presence. Adapters were soon invented so phonographs could play both vertical and lateral 78s, but by then, not enough popular vertical recordings existed to motivate consumers to make the