Publication Date

1995

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Chown, Jeffrey

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Communication

LCSH

Music trade--United States--History--20th century; Compact discs--History

Abstract

The compact disc was brought to the United States marketplace in 1982. Although the disc was a major improvement over existing home playback technology, it was not recordable. The industry did not make a recordable compact disc available to the public until nearly a decade later. Finally, when the consumer recordable system became available, the new disc was incompatible with the original disc system. Questions examined in this thesis revolve around: What has propelled technological change in the compact disc industry? Why has the public had to wait so long for a recordable compact disc? This thesis will suggest that modem corporate capitalism is a very important factor in the research and development of electronic technology. The consumer's best interests are not always met by the companies who control the music industry. Technology may be introduced more in terms of what the market will bear, than in terms of what the latest scientific development will allow. Could it be that a strategy of planned obsolescence may account for why many recordable systems developed in the early and middle 1980s never reached the market in a timely fashion? This study will consider several explanations behind the ten-year wait for consumer digital disc recording.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [67]-77)

Extent

77 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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