Jointly developed by Sony in Japan and Philips in Eindhoven, Netherlands; the shiny new digital-optical disc was introduced to store and play digital audio recordings and surprisingly had an obstacle filled entry into the music industry.
According to Jan Timmer, then head of Philips Worldwide, “If there would have been rotten eggs available, they would have thrown them at me,” at an Athens, Greece, music-industry conference where he attempted to introduce the new format to a roomful of defensive record executives.
Major labels executives refused to switch from their old beloved vinyl LP and wouldn’t cooperate when introduced to the new format — and were requested to provide the software & music to go with the developed compact-disc hardware.
However after years of aggressive marketing and a sustained charm campaign from Sony-Philips heavyweights On Oct. 1, 1982, in Japan; Billy Joel‘s ‘52nd Street’ became the first ever CD to go on sale.
Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ Becomes the First Music CD Pressed in the U.S.A. , pressed at the opening of CBS Records CD production plant in Terre Haute, Indiana on September 1984.
Around 1987, CDs surpassed the LP in volume and revenue.
CDs sales peaked in 2000, when nearly a billion discs were shipped within the US alone, with revenues of $13.2B accounting for 92.3% of total revenue of $14.3B.
This run lasted for 20 years undisturbed until the introduction of MP3s and Napster, which contributed to its steady revenue decline. Although its run has been interrupted it has been making a comeback. According to the RIAA year-end statistics in 2021, revenues from CDs grew 21% to $584 million, the first year-over-year increase in CD revenues since 2004.
The Compact Disc has become sort of like a keepsake, a souvenir, or a symbol for a piece of culture.
