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A Matter of Record (part 2): “To ‘The Victor’ go the spoils”
Most of us love to watch the entertainment awards on television—the Oscars, which honor the best motion pictures; the Tonys for theater; Clios for advertising; and the Grammys for music.
Ever wonder where the names Oscar, Tony, Clio and Grammy came from?
Three out of four really had nothing much to do with the industries they are associated with. But can you guess which one is associated with the birth of an industry?
Oscar, you say? Sorry. Legend has it that the executive director thought the gold statue, originally named the “Academy Award of Merit,” looked like her Uncle Oscar.
The Tonys were named after a philanthropist, Antoinette Perry, and the Clios after a Greek goddess.
The answer, boys and girls, is that the Grammys were named after the recording machine: the gramophone.
Oh, you say; you’ve heard of the phonograph, but what in the world is a gramophone?
The Edison phonograph (see part 1) used a cylinder as the medium on which to record. The gramophone was to become the turntable, or record player, that used a flat, black disc, which was the primary medium of playing recorded music from 1890 to the 1980s, before it was supplanted by the compact disc.
Until 1894, all recordings were on cylinders designed to be played on the Edison phonograph or Bell graph-o-phone. These cylinders first used tin foil, and then wax compounds, but the tin foil lasted only a few plays, and the wax cylinders were easily broken and wore out quickly. Cylinders were difficult to mass-produce and could be copied only in limited numbers, usually by mechanical means (see part 1).
In 1886, Emil Berliner, a German immigrant who had become a United States citizen just a few years earlier, began experimenting with methods of sound recording. He envisioned a great future for music recording. He worked on an alternative system to record on discs, as opposed to the cylinders of Edison and Bell.
He called his invention the “gramophone.”
However, the sound quality of Berliner's gramophone was substantially inferior to that of the Edison cylinder records. Discs were cheaper, less reliable and usually of lower audio fidelity than the cylinder records, and were widely considered little more than “toys.” So initially the technology was sold to toy companies, which used the discs in such things as talking dolls and small, hand-turned machines marketed to children.
Looking to improve his invention and market it more effectively, Berliner entered into an agreement with several New York investors. Together they formed the American Gramophone Company, later to be called the United States Gramophone Company.
With the financial backing and gradual improvements, the flat disc caught on when the public realized the disc’s significant advantage over the cylinder. The disc record, after all, was made of hard rubber, thus less susceptible to damage. It could be mass-produced inexpensively, so discs could penetrate the market more efficiently. Discs required no storage capsules, could be stored upright in their jackets, and took up less space. Discs had a blank center area where information about the artist, serial number, date, and so on could be etched, and where a permanent paper label could be attached, listing the recorded songs. Finally, both sides could be used, doubling the amount of recorded music a single disc could contain.
But now, as the classic saying goes: "Failure is an orphan, but success has many fathers."
The sudden success of Berliner’s disc player spawned many competitors, who saw the tremendous financial potential of Berliner’s invention.
Serious challenges to Berliner’s gramophone came about from names like "Vitaphone," manufactured by the American Talking Machine Company, and "Zonophone," made by the Universal Talking Machine Company. The design and technology of the Zonophone was allegedly “gleaned” (some say “stolen”) from Berliner by a former employee, Frank Seaman.
Seaman, collaborating with Columbia Records (which then manufactured only cylinder records and machines), argued that the patents held by Columbia concerning cylinders applied to "any type of recording where a stylus vibrated in a groove."
Incredibly, Seaman was successful with his litigation, and got the judge to file an injunction that prohibited Berliner from manufacturing the gramophone discs and players.
Years of litigation ensued, and eventually Berliner, weary and almost broke, decided to reorganize. He merged with Eldridge R. Johnson to form a new company called the Consolidated Talking Machine Company.
Johnson and Berliner counter-sued, and the following year, emerged victorious in court. After Johnson and Berliner’s legal victories over Seaman and the Zonophone—as well as all others—concerning their rights to patents on and distribution of their products, they changed the name of the company from the Consolidated Talk Machine Company to, appropriately, “The Victor,” in honor of their legal victory.
“The Victor” went on to be called the Victor Talking Machine Company. It manufactured the early turntable, which was called the Victrola. In the 1920s, the company collaborated with the Japanese, thereby creating the “Japanese Victor Company.” You most likely know them today simply by the initials “JVC.”
Proving that to the Victor goes the spoils, eventually The Victor Talking Machine Company was acquired by RCA, went on to become RCA Victor and, later, RCA Records.
Thankfully, the gramophone prevailed over the phonograph. After all, who would ever want to watch an award ceremony called “The Phonys ”? That award is much better suited to political conventions instead. (Yuk, yuk).
Ever wonder where the names Oscar, Tony, Clio and Grammy came from?
Three out of four really had nothing much to do with the industries they are associated with. But can you guess which one is associated with the birth of an industry?
Oscar, you say? Sorry. Legend has it that the executive director thought the gold statue, originally named the “Academy Award of Merit,” looked like her Uncle Oscar.
The Tonys were named after a philanthropist, Antoinette Perry, and the Clios after a Greek goddess.
The answer, boys and girls, is that the Grammys were named after the recording machine: the gramophone.
Oh, you say; you’ve heard of the phonograph, but what in the world is a gramophone?
The Edison phonograph (see part 1) used a cylinder as the medium on which to record. The gramophone was to become the turntable, or record player, that used a flat, black disc, which was the primary medium of playing recorded music from 1890 to the 1980s, before it was supplanted by the compact disc.
Until 1894, all recordings were on cylinders designed to be played on the Edison phonograph or Bell graph-o-phone. These cylinders first used tin foil, and then wax compounds, but the tin foil lasted only a few plays, and the wax cylinders were easily broken and wore out quickly. Cylinders were difficult to mass-produce and could be copied only in limited numbers, usually by mechanical means (see part 1).
In 1886, Emil Berliner, a German immigrant who had become a United States citizen just a few years earlier, began experimenting with methods of sound recording. He envisioned a great future for music recording. He worked on an alternative system to record on discs, as opposed to the cylinders of Edison and Bell.
He called his invention the “gramophone.”
However, the sound quality of Berliner's gramophone was substantially inferior to that of the Edison cylinder records. Discs were cheaper, less reliable and usually of lower audio fidelity than the cylinder records, and were widely considered little more than “toys.” So initially the technology was sold to toy companies, which used the discs in such things as talking dolls and small, hand-turned machines marketed to children.
Looking to improve his invention and market it more effectively, Berliner entered into an agreement with several New York investors. Together they formed the American Gramophone Company, later to be called the United States Gramophone Company.
With the financial backing and gradual improvements, the flat disc caught on when the public realized the disc’s significant advantage over the cylinder. The disc record, after all, was made of hard rubber, thus less susceptible to damage. It could be mass-produced inexpensively, so discs could penetrate the market more efficiently. Discs required no storage capsules, could be stored upright in their jackets, and took up less space. Discs had a blank center area where information about the artist, serial number, date, and so on could be etched, and where a permanent paper label could be attached, listing the recorded songs. Finally, both sides could be used, doubling the amount of recorded music a single disc could contain.
But now, as the classic saying goes: "Failure is an orphan, but success has many fathers."
The sudden success of Berliner’s disc player spawned many competitors, who saw the tremendous financial potential of Berliner’s invention.
Serious challenges to Berliner’s gramophone came about from names like "Vitaphone," manufactured by the American Talking Machine Company, and "Zonophone," made by the Universal Talking Machine Company. The design and technology of the Zonophone was allegedly “gleaned” (some say “stolen”) from Berliner by a former employee, Frank Seaman.
Seaman, collaborating with Columbia Records (which then manufactured only cylinder records and machines), argued that the patents held by Columbia concerning cylinders applied to "any type of recording where a stylus vibrated in a groove."
Incredibly, Seaman was successful with his litigation, and got the judge to file an injunction that prohibited Berliner from manufacturing the gramophone discs and players.
Years of litigation ensued, and eventually Berliner, weary and almost broke, decided to reorganize. He merged with Eldridge R. Johnson to form a new company called the Consolidated Talking Machine Company.
Johnson and Berliner counter-sued, and the following year, emerged victorious in court. After Johnson and Berliner’s legal victories over Seaman and the Zonophone—as well as all others—concerning their rights to patents on and distribution of their products, they changed the name of the company from the Consolidated Talk Machine Company to, appropriately, “The Victor,” in honor of their legal victory.
“The Victor” went on to be called the Victor Talking Machine Company. It manufactured the early turntable, which was called the Victrola. In the 1920s, the company collaborated with the Japanese, thereby creating the “Japanese Victor Company.” You most likely know them today simply by the initials “JVC.”
Proving that to the Victor goes the spoils, eventually The Victor Talking Machine Company was acquired by RCA, went on to become RCA Victor and, later, RCA Records.
Thankfully, the gramophone prevailed over the phonograph. After all, who would ever want to watch an award ceremony called “The Phonys ”? That award is much better suited to political conventions instead. (Yuk, yuk).
