From Hanover-Langenhagen out into the world
The digitalization of music began 40 years ago with the CD, which turned the industry upside down. The first silver discs for sale were produced in Hanover-Langenhagen. However, the Internet played the song of death for the CD, but as is well known, those who are said to be dead live longer.
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The good piece was already presented at the IFA 1981, the disc has already passed its first 40th anniversary. When the machines started up in the Polygram plant in Hanover-Langenhagen on August 17, 1982, another piece of music history was written. Commercial production of the compact disc began with the CD version of the ABBA album “The Visitors”. The factory on Emil-Berliner-Strasse, named after the inventor of the gramophone, was already involved in the production of other sound carriers such as the vinyl record, which had been dominant up to that point pioneer.
ABBA album “The Visitors” first commercial CD production 40 years ago
But as it turned out, the CD was much more revolutionary than previous innovations in recording media. Because it carried within itself the seeds of its own demise: for the first time, a music format made for consumers was digital. That doesn’t just mean clean sound without the hiss of a music cassette or the cracking of the needle in the grooves of a record. The conversion of the songs into files with rows of numbers made up of ones and zeros laid the foundation for being able to do without physical sound carriers entirely. Because from then on it was only a matter of time before music was mainly distributed over the Internet – like today with streaming services. “The CD founded a digital culture,” said cultural researcher Ryan Daniel of Australia’s James Cook University.
The beginnings of the CD era were marked by debates about whether the sound of the twelve centimeter silver disc was too sterile compared to the warmer analog sound of a record. And from the criticism of the high price of the first players. But the CD was well received by consumers. In 1985, 26 million discs were produced in Langenhagen alone.
The music industry first saw the CD into a golden age. Not only chart toppers like Michael Jackson, Madonna or U2 fill their coffers. Whether it’s the Beatles or the Bee Gees, millions of customers are buying music that they already found extraordinary again on CD. Some albums even several times, if there were new editions with a polished sound. “The Visitors” by ABBA, for example, was re-released four times.
High point of market relevance in 1997
In Germany, the music market peaked in 1997 at around 2.3 billion euros. However, the industry’s great fortune did not last long. Because German researchers unleashed the revolutionary power of digitization. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen, a team led by Professor Karlheinz Brandenburg uses the MP3 format. This allowed music files to be reduced to about a tenth of the CD size. MP3 was originally intended for radio broadcasting and the music industry, but the encryption was cracked. Suddenly anyone could copy a CD and exchange it on the Internet. Because in the specification of the CD no copy protection was provided.
The decline of the CD began with the birth of music piracy. After all, who likes to pay for something they can get for free?
be able? The music exchange market Napster, which had more than 60 million users at its peak, became a prime example. die
The record industry finally forced them out of the network with lawsuits, but other sides moved up. Sales in the music industry plummeted.
The changing of the guard MP3 also has its origins in Germany
At the new start after the Napster shock, the CD no longer played first fiddle. With the success of the iPod player, Apple boss Steve Jobs convinced the music bosses in 2003 that legal downloads with simple operation and a price of 99 cents per song are the future. Streaming, where you don’t have to buy the music but only pay for it as a subscription, quickly seems like the next logical step – but it will take a while for fast mobile networks and powerful smartphones to make a breakthrough before consumers can be sure that they can listen to music at any time get to their music.
Streaming has become the new savior of the music industry. Last year, the industry’s turnover in Germany rose to 1.96 billion euros. However, they are distributed very differently than before. A good 68 percent of this came from streaming, while only 3 percent came from purchase downloads. The CD still achieved a respectable 16.3 percent. However, she no longer comes from Langenhagen: the CD factory there closed in 2017.
In the world’s largest music market, the USA, there was even a countermovement in 2021 with a sales increase of 47.7 percent. The fact is that with 46.6 million compact discs sold, the level before the corona pandemic with its store closures was only just reached. But the recovery also shows that while streaming has become the measure of all things in the music industry, the 40-year-old CD format still has its loyal customers who don’t want to be without it.
[Andrej Sokolow]
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