LP record
A 12-inch disc made of black vinyl copolymer sits on a turntable spinning at 33 revolutions per minute. This physical object replaced the abrasive shellac compound that dominated home phonograph records before 1948. Shellac was noisy and limited playing time to less than five minutes per side for a standard 12-inch diameter record. The new product used a fine-grooved specification called microgroove with a smaller-tipped stylus. Each side of this 12-inch LP could play for about 25 minutes allowing for a total runtime of approximately 50 minutes. Columbia Records introduced this format in 1948 as a direct response to the limitations of existing media. The material itself is a copolymer of vinyl chloride acetate which provided a much quieter playing surface compared to predecessors.
Starting in 1926 Edison Records company experimented with issuing long play format discs holding 24 minutes per side. These early systems proved unreliable and were a commercial failure despite their ambitious design goals. By mid-1931 all motion picture studios recorded on optical soundtracks but sets of soundtrack discs remained in use until 1936. In September 1931 RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record marketed as Program-Transcription records. These revolutionary discs played at 78 revolutions per minute and pressed on a 30 cm diameter flexible plastic disc. They offered a duration of about ten minutes playing time per side yet failed due to lack of affordable consumer playback equipment. Consumer rejection during the Great Depression sealed the fate of these early vinyl experiments before they could gain traction.
CBS Laboratories head research scientist Peter Goldmark led Columbia's team to develop a phonograph record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side. Research began in 1939 but was suspended during World War II and resumed in 1945. Columbia Records unveiled the LP at a press conference in the Waldorf Astoria on the 21st of June 1948. The event featured two formats: 10-inch and 12-inch diameters matching existing single sizes. The initial release included 133 recordings split between classical popular and juvenile categories. Nathan Milstein performed Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Bruno Walter for catalog number ML 4001. Three ten-inch series followed including The Voice of Frank Sinatra and Nursery Songs by Gene Kelly. All 12-inch pressings were made from 220 grams vinyl ensuring durability and sound quality.
When the LP was introduced in 1948 nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of abrasive shellac compound. By 1952 shellac still accounted for slightly more than half of the units sold in the United States. The LP represented not quite 17% of unit sales and just over 26% of dollar sales that same year. Ten years after their introduction the share of unit sales for LPs in the US was almost 25%. Of dollar sales it reached 58% while 78s dropped to only 1% of dollar sales. This popularity shift ushered in the album era of English-language popular music beginning in the late 1950s. Performers took advantage of longer playing time to create coherent themes or concept albums. Robert Christgau noted that the long-playing record suited habits of concentration perfectly with four-to-six compositions per side.
The close spacing of the spiral groove on a 33 revolutions per minute microgroove LP allowed a faint pre-echo of upcoming loud sounds. A quiet passage followed by a loud sound would allow anyone to hear a faint pre-echo 1.8 seconds ahead of time. Further advances included helium-cooled cutting heads capable of withstanding higher levels of high frequencies from Neumann SX68 equipment. Elliptical styluses marketed by several manufacturers appeared at the end of the 1960s offering improved tracking capabilities. Cartridges operating at lower tracking forces of 2.0 grams began appearing from the mid-1960s onward. Half-speed and one-third-speed record cutting extended the usable bandwidth of the record significantly. Noise-reduction systems like CX encoding and dbx encoding started from 1973 to combat surface noise issues. Direct metal mastering provided another layer of fidelity for audiophiles seeking perfection.
Reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorders posed a new challenge to the LP in the 1950s but remained confined to a niche market due to cost. Cartridge and cassette tapes became popular for use in automobiles beginning in the mid-1960s as more convenient alternatives. The LP was not seriously challenged as the primary medium for listening to recorded music at home until the 1970s. By 1983 cassettes were outselling LPs in the US after audio quality improvements via better tape formulations. The Compact Disc introduced in 1982 offered theoretically almost noiseless recording unaffected by repeated playing or slight scuffs. Prices came down and by 1988 CDs outsold LPs becoming the top-selling format over cassettes in 1992. Despite these challenges the LP survived as a format to the present day maintaining relevance among collectors.
Since the late 1990s there has been a vinyl revival driven by demand in niche markets like audiophiles DJs and indie fans. Vinyl LP records enjoyed a resurgence in popularity throughout the 2010s with sales figures climbing steadily each year. US vinyl sales reached 15.6 million units in 2017 and grew to 27 million for 2020 according to RIAA reports. In 2022 US vinyl sales reached 41 million units surpassing sales of the Compact Disc for the first time since 1987. This made the LP the highest selling physical format again within the United States market. Most music sales as of 2018 still came from online downloads and streaming due to availability convenience and price but physical formats are returning. The name continues to be used today to refer to new records despite decades of technological evolution.
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Common questions
What is the LP record and when was it introduced?
The LP record is a 12-inch disc made of black vinyl copolymer that spins at 33 revolutions per minute. Columbia Records introduced this format in 1948 as a direct response to the limitations of existing media.
How long can an LP record play compared to shellac records before 1948?
Each side of a standard 12-inch LP could play for about 25 minutes allowing for a total runtime of approximately 50 minutes. This replaced the abrasive shellac compound which limited playing time to less than five minutes per side for a standard 12-inch diameter record.
Who developed the LP record and when did Columbia Records unveil it?
CBS Laboratories head research scientist Peter Goldmark led Columbia's team to develop a phonograph record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side. Columbia Records unveiled the LP at a press conference in the Waldorf Astoria on the 21st of June 1948.
When did cassettes outsell LPs in the United States market?
By 1983 cassettes were outselling LPs in the US after audio quality improvements via better tape formulations. The Compact Disc introduced in 1982 offered theoretically almost noiseless recording unaffected by repeated playing or slight scuffs.
What year did vinyl sales surpass CD sales in the United States again?
In 2022 US vinyl sales reached 41 million units surpassing sales of the Compact Disc for the first time since 1987. This made the LP the highest selling physical format again within the United States market.