Electric Sounds: Technological Change and the Rise of Corporate Mass Media (Film and Culture Series)

The 1920s and 1930s marked some of the most important developments in the history of the American mass media: the film industry's conversion to synchronous sound, the rise of radio networks and advertising-supported broadcasting, the establishment of a federal regulatory framework, and the birth of a new acoustic commodity in which consumers accessed stories, songs, and other products through multiple media formats. The innovations of this period not only restructured and consolidated corporate mass media interests while shifting the conventions of media consumption. They renegotiated the social functions assigned to mass media forms. In this impeccably researched history, Steve J. Wurtzler grasps the full story of sounds media, proving that the ultimate form technology takes is never predetermined but shaped by conflicting visions of technological possibility in economic, cultural, and political realms. __Electric Sounds__ brings to vivid life an era when innovations in the production, recording, and transmission of sound revolutionized a number of different media, especially the radio, the phonograph, and the cinema. The 1920s and 1930s marked some of the most important developments in the history of the American mass media: the film industry's conversion to synchronous sound, the rise of radio networks and advertising-supported broadcasting, the establishment of a federal regulatory framework on which U.S. communications policy continues to be based, the development of several powerful media conglomerates, and the birth of a new acoustic commodity in which a single story, song, or other product was made available to consumers in multiple media forms and formats. But what role would this new media play in society? Celebrants saw an opportunity for educational and cultural uplift; critics feared the degradation of the standards of public taste. Some believed acoustic media would fulfill the promise of participatory democracy by better informing the public, while others saw an opportunity for manipulation. The innovations of this period prompted not only a restructuring and consolidation of corporate mass media interests and a shift in the conventions and patterns of media consumption but also a renegotiation of the social functions assigned to mass media forms. Steve J. Wurtzler's impeccably researched history adds a new dimension to the study of sound media, proving that the ultimate form technology takes is never predetermined. Rather, it is shaped by conflicting visions of technological possibility in economic, cultural, and political realms. __Electric Sounds__ also illustrates the process through which technologies become media and the ways in which media are integrated into American life.

Electric Sounds brings to vivid life an era when innovations in the production, recording, and transmission of sound revolutionized a number of different media, especially the radio, the phonograph, and the cinema.

The 1920s and 1930s marked some of the most important developments in the history of the American mass media: the film industry's conversion to synchronous sound, the rise of radio networks and advertising-supported broadcasting, the establishment of a federal regulatory framework on which U.S. communications policy continues to be based, the development of several powerful media conglomerates, and the birth of a new acoustic commodity in which a single story, song, or other product was made available to consumers in multiple media forms and formats.

But what role would this new media play in society? Celebrants saw an opportunity for educational and cultural uplift; critics feared the degradation of the standards of public taste. Some believed acoustic media would fulfill the promise of participatory democracy by better informing the public, while others saw an opportunity for manipulation. The innovations of this period prompted not only a restructuring and consolidation of corporate mass media interests and a shift in the conventions and patterns of media consumption but also a renegotiation of the social functions assigned to mass media forms.

Steve J. Wurtzler's impeccably researched history adds a new dimension to the study of sound media, proving that the ultimate form technology takes is never predetermined. Rather, it is shaped by conflicting visions of technological possibility in economic, cultural, and political realms. Electric Sounds also illustrates the process through which technologies become media and the ways in which media are integrated into American life.

Columbia University Press

"Electric Sounds focuses on the innovations in the electronic production and transmission of sound in the 1920s and '30s and their explosive impact on the American mass media. Wurtzler looks at how advancements made in film, radio, phonography, and public address systems proved to be the most important developments in mass media history. In clear and engaging prose, he recounts the film industry's conversion to sound, the rise of radio networks and advertising-supported broadcasting, the creation of a federal regulatory framework, and the merger of several film, radio, and recording companies into powerful conglomerates." "Proving that "the ultimate form technology takes is never predetermined, but instead the result of struggles between conflicting visions of technological possibility in economic, cultural, and political realms," Electric Sounds illuminates an era that revolutionized the role sound media would play in America."--BOOK JACKET. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Technological Innovation and the Consolidation of Corporate Power 2. Announcing Technological Change 3. From Performing the Recorded to Dissimulating the Machine 4. Making Sound Media Meaningful: Commerce, Culture, Politics 5. Transcription Versus Signification: Copeting Paradigms for Representing with Sound Conclusions/Reverberations Notes Index Focuses on the innovations in the electronic production and transmission of sound in the 1920s and '30s and their explosive impact on the American mass media, especially the radio, the phonograph, and the cinema