Great points, all. Know your customer base. Aside from the Happiness Boys, Dalhart and Rachmaninoff, what major stars recorded regularly for Edison? All the titles I ever see aren't by artists I'd call major stars of the era.
r. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 10:34 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Phono-L and Censorship > Edison stuck to the mores, business models, and audience awareness of the > late 19th century far too long. He came from an time when the people who > built > the best machines, for the best prices, got the most business. He relied > way > too much on word of mouth, and skimped on advertising. > > Edison also inexplicably missed out on the fact that from 1900 on, > American > cities boomed, and the rural audience that had been so loyal to him began > its > long, slow decline that continues to this day. Victor seized the moment. > They advertised heavily, and often, in large, urban-oriented > publications. To > see one of Victor's lavish, colorful spreads in a magazine from that era > almost > makes an Edison fan wince. Victor also invented the "star" system, with > their long-term contracts. Edison thought it was better to get a > half-dozen of > the great artists' best titles, and not be "stuck" with paying them any > more > money for "lesser material." > > It is fitting that one of the world's most famous trademarks, (Nipper,) > has > a gramophone painted over an Edison cylinder machine, and that one of the > most famous Edison advertising pieces has two toothless geezers singing > along > with a cylinder machine. > > DISCLAIMER! > > To all of you toothless geezers out there. Please do not take offense. I > am > approaching geezerdom at an ever accelerating pace, and my dentist takes > more > of my money every year. > > Randy > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > [email protected] > > Phono-L Archive > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ > > Support Phono-L > http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank >
