Columbia dabbles with radio....and turns chicken,

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Here's something that I just got today . I've never seen it before: it's the September 1927 Columbia bulletin announcing the inauguration of the Columbia Broadcasting System their short lived fling with radio broadcasting. They got cold feet in December and left the enterprise. I think there is more to the story than just that , but I can't find my notes on that topic, but I'll report when I do.
Anyway , I thought I'd scan it. I think the graphic with the flying Columbia logo zapping the domestic radio aerial with Columbia music is a hoot!

Jim

[Henry]

Of those calls in the list, I recognize two as still broadcasting: WOR and WCAU. Any others?

[Lenoirstreetguy]

More on the Columbia Network. Hebert Ridout was a publicist for British Columbia until 1940 or so. His memoirs state that Columbia was made to drop the network because American Columbia was at that time owned by British Columbia, and that American broadcasting stations had to be owned by Americans. I'm not sure about this but that's the Ridout's version from 1940. Makes sense. The financial cold feet story has seemed a little sketchy because Columbia in 1927-28 was doing very well financially.

JRT

[Victrolacollector]

I recognize WMAQ Chicago; just wondering if this would have been more of a early type of network programming.

[syncopeter]

Columbia was definitely doing well during that period. They were able to take over Lindstrom, which was huge and were a big threat on the European market. In Germany alone they must have had at least 60% of all sales. Victor had overstepped its size and had to be rescued by RCA in 1929. Don't forget that Victor and HMV were liased but independent from each other. HMV, being more conservative, was able to survive and even take over Columbia in 1931.
I think Victor overstepped with the transition in 1925 from the Stone Age to the Atomic Era. HMV wisely had an intermediate period with its series using the no. 4 soundbox that was both forward and backward compatible, so they had more time to update their catalog.

[barnettrp21122]

JRT:
I'll say it again-your scans and info are the best! Thanks!
Bob

[poodlesrule]

This had me look up the "Shepard Stores" in Boston.

Interesting.
A local blog dedicated to "retro Boston" talks about it.

[chem_jv]

KMOX is still the "Voice of Saint Louis"

[David Spanovich]

Victor had overstepped its size and had to be rescued by RCA in 1929. Don't forget that Victor and HMV were liased but independent from each other. HMV, being more conservative, was able to survive and even take over Columbia in 1931.
I think Victor overstepped with the transition in 1925 from the Stone Age to the Atomic Era. HMV wisely had an intermediate period with its series using the no. 4 soundbox that was both forward and backward compatible, so they had more time to update their catalog.

I've read similar comments online about how the Victor Talking Machine Co. was near bankruptcy and looked to RCA for a bailout. I don't know where this re-telling of history started, but, simply put, there was no rescue by RCA involved.

By 1924, Victor had taken a tremendous financial hit--compared to previous years--due to the impact (in the US market) by radio.

It's important to note that the biggest competitor to the phonograph in the US during the 1920s was radio. Hundreds of stations were operating, coast to coast, by the middle and latter part of the decade. (The Radio Act of 1927 laid the foundation for the industry.) In addition, the major networks were also forming. RCA, in fact, had established the first major network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in 1926. The Columbia Phonograph Company's venture into radio eventually evolved into the Columbia Broadcasting System.

The Western Electric-designed recording process and the Orthophonic Victrola allowed Victor to more than make up for it's losses by 1926. This also took into account the major half-price sell-off of all unsold pre-Orthophonic Victrolas and acoustically recorded records, which started in mid-1925, in preparation for the new line.

Due to declining health, Victor's founder, Eldridge Johnson, sold his shares in the company, and control passed to Speyer & Co. and J & W Seligman of New York on January 6, 1927. (Johnson retired a multimillionaire.) The banking syndicate, in turn, sold the company nearly two years later--again at a profit--to RCA.


So, it's true that Victor (and other companies) paid substantial royalties for the use of the Western Electric system, but the increased sales of records and phonographs more than made up for this. "From Tinfoil To Stereo" by Welch and Read, provides a comprehensive history of this period, along with some financial figures.


DS

[Guest]

David,

You're quoting the official version. Victor was in serious financial trouble, both through the new medium but also because they had a serious backlash from their classical music division. They had to re-record everything to comply with their own new standards and that cost an enormous amount of money. They may not have been on the brink of a close down, but they definitely had been making real money for years on end either.