THE GRAMOPHONE Again , it was Emile Berliner , in 1877 who challenged Edison ’ s cylinder phonograph , by developing the gramophone , which stored sound on a disc much like the vinyl albums we use today . He also developed a shellacbased disc that was much more durable and long-lasting than the wax cylinders used on Edison ’ s phonograph . An exceptional marketer , Berliner realized the commercial potential of his gramophone and shellac disc so he started the first record label .
Emile Berliner
stand next to the boosting amplifier and hear the conversation occurring over the telephone lines . Without Berliner ’ s microphone design , the telephone wouldn ’ t have likely sounded good for decades .
His carbon microphone became the solution to the telephone system and , because it was the best-sounding microphone so far , it was put to use in the developing radio and performance broadcast industries .
And our story includes irony : neither Bell nor Berliner came up with the underlying concept that speech could be transmitted as it varied the current between two contacts . That idea was published in scientific journals as early as 1854 . But it was Berliner who created a working microphone in 1877 . To thicken the plot further , Thomas Edison also applied for a very similar patent around the same time as Berliner in 1877 ! Edison had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world .
As it turned out , Emile Berliner died in 1929 thinking that his idea for the carbon microphone had been stolen by Alexander Graham Bell . He did , however receive a lot of credit for inventing the lateral-cut disc record — an invention that has survived throughout several generations and , in its 180-gram vinyl rendition , is still the hippest way to listen to music !
THE PLOT THICKENS But of course , the plot thickens . Alexander Graham Bell wanted to own the rights to the carbon microphone so he could use it in his telephone system . So Bell purchased the license to use Berliner ’ s technology in his telephone system for $ 50,000 dollars ( about 1.5 million dollars today ). What ensued was a legal battle with both Bell and Berliner claiming ownership of the patent for the carbon microphone . It would make sense that Bell felt he had paid amply for ownership of the patent , yet Berliner feeling that the payment was just for the license to use his technology , not for the right to own the technology . Berliner lost the contest in 1892 when the U . S . Supreme Court ruled to give credit for the invention of the carbon microphone to Alexander Graham Bell .
The Gramophone