Muzak and Vinylite 4 Ever

A commenter on this blog recently suggested that the upside of Muzak was that they created the vinyl record. This is not conjecture. In fact, according to Muzak’s own website, in 1933 they “began transmitting music over phone lines. Central studios played records – the first 33 1/3 rpm records and the first ever done on vinylite rather than shellac.” This is a claim to have made used and broadcasted the first vinyl records in existence. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. More here.

In 1948 Columbia records began marketing the 7-inch, 45-rpm vinyl discs we now refer to as 45s. In that era, they were described as being made of "vinylite." The first 45 rpm record players were actually developed by Philco in 1938; ten years earlier. But a WWII vinyl shortage and continuing success with shellac 78s. 

But these were not the first vinyl records. Let's back up. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) what we call vinyl was first invented in 1838, by Henri Victor Regnault. It was invented again by Eugen Baumann in 1872. Neither  ever applied for a patent. So when Emile Berliner invented the record in 1888 and chose to use vulcanized rubber it wasn't because of patent infringement. There were two reasons. PVC is too soft for the mechanical playback devices  from that era. Their amplification was powered by friction. In 1913, Friedrich Klatte took did patent PVC but only in Germany. That's all beside the point, it wasn't until 1926 that Waldo L. Semon invented plasticized PVC.  This plastic had far greater utility, the Navy began using it as wire insulation. It's only after this date that we can seriously entertain vinyl records.

Sure enough it's only a few years later, in 1930 that RCA Victor vinyl long-playing records. these were marketed as "Program Transcription" discs. They were 12 inches in diameter and spun at 33.3 rpm. Roland Gelatt's book The Fabulous Phonograph, attributes the commercial failure of the device to the financial strain of the great depression. It was not a good time to debut a new media format with new playback devices. RCA's deluxe line of electric phonographs such as the RAE-59 were designed to handle playback. They were made of a plastic they called "Vitrolac" and it was made of PVC.  These were unquestionably the first vinyl records. You can argue that Muzak as an early adopter helped the format, but arguing that they were the fist to broadcast them requires that we believe no one else tried it for 3 years. Dubious.

Vinylite™ is Vinyl Chloride

I have discussed Metrolite, Deccalite, Merco Plastic, and Sav-o-flex in the past. All were brands of PVC, Styrene and other plastics used to replace shellac. If you can't recall the details go here. Vinylite was the Bakelite brand name for transparent vinyl plastic. Vinylite was Vinyl chloride (CH2=CHCl) a plastic made through a reaction between ethylene, oxygen, hydrogen chloride and a copper catalyst.

By the 1950s in America there were already long-playing 78s.  These were 12-inch platters instead of the normal 10-inch and they had narrower grooves. These more compact grooves allowed for more grooves in the blank. Of course the idea of long-playing at the time was 7 minutes. As with everything else, consumers sought a better product, longer playing time, higher fidelity, more durability... In 1930 the Union Carbide Corporation debuted the polymer Vinylite™ . It was a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate.

As a result groove width was further reduced. They found through testing that speed could be reduced by more than half. (78 ÷ 2 = 39rpm) These were called microgrooves and they made for about 16 minutes of playtime. They also reduced surface noise, less breakage... A radical improvement. But it was softer, much softer. Over time in storage it scuffed and gaps could form between grooves allowing bleed.  Early Vinylite also discolored over time. The red Vinylite turned black and more opaque. The black Vinylite eventually became dark gray.

Gradually the term Vinylite came to mean colored vinyl and our more common black Vinylite was just called vinyl. In Europe and Russia red vinylite was fairly common place possibly causing the shift. And in the U.S. The Session record label released red 12-inch releases on Vinylite. Session made the switch for audiophile not aesthetic reasons. If anything, Vinylite was more expensive than shellac even in times of scarcity; even accounting for breakage. 

Some manufacturers continued to flirt with shellac. They reduced their pressing costs, as with other jazz labels this received a negative reaction at retail. The shellac era was over.