This page is intended to provide an overview of the antecedents to the jukebox, the first jukebox, and the creation of early record companies, as according to our project outline. To learn more about each topic, please follow either the applicable drop down menus or the hyperlinks at the bottom of each paragraph.
Antecedents & Key Technology
Antecedents to the Jukebox
The jukebox, as we know it today, is a machine that plays music when a coin is inserted. The name “jukebox” comes from the Gullah word “juke” or “jook,” which means “rowdy” or “disorderly,” a reference to the raucous environments of the saloons and “jook joints” in which jukeboxes could first be found. The jukebox provided cheap entertainment and allowed for the individual selection of music in public spaces the early-mid 20th-century.
Technically speaking, the jukebox is a merely a semi-automated phonograph, and was refereed to as such in its early days. A phonograph refers to any device that reproduces sound using mechanical recordings. Antecedents to the jukebox as a music-playing device include:
- Player Pianos
- Music Boxes
- The Phonograph/Graphophone
- The Automatic Entertainer
Key Pieces of Technology: What “Made” the Jukebox?
The main components that were necessary to produce the jukebox include: [2]
- Playable/Recordable Sound
- Music Selection
- Coin-Operation
To learn more about the key pieces of technology that made the jukebox, as well as its antecedents, please click here.
The First Jukebox
Who made the first jukebox? Was it an individual, group, or parallel effort?
The first “true” jukebox was Louis Glass‘s “nickel-in-slot phonograph,” which appeared in a San Francisco Saloon in 1898. Arguably, development of the jukebox was a “parallel” effort as modifications were added, such as John Gabel’s “Automatic Entertainer” – the system that allowed listeners to switch between different records, therefore expanding the usefulness of the jukebox. [3]
Where was the first jukebox used?
As phonographs were developed in the early 20th-century, it became clear that the jukebox, along with its moving-picture playing counterparts such as the nickelodeon, were intriguing and potentially profitable forms of entertainment.
While some initially hoped that the phonograph would become a tool for business, the locations in which the device was most prevalent proved otherwise.
. The first jukeboxes began to appear in places of leisure, entertainment, and community: [4]
- Saloons and Bars
- Diners and Restaurants
- Convenience Shops
- Military Barracks
To learn more about the first jukebox, please click here.
Early Record Companies
How did, if at all, the jukebox impact the music industry?
The jukebox, along with the film industry and the radio, raised questions about the reproduction of sound and copyright, which led to the creation of early modern record companies. This introduction can be traced to the Copyright Act of 1909, which sparked the need for organization in the creation, ownership, and distribution of music.
During the Great Depression, record sales plummeted as consumers lacked disposable income necessary to frequent diners, restaurants, and saloons where phonographs and jukeboxes were popular. Many even began to wonder if this time period was the beginning of the end for newly formed record companies.
However, demise was not in store for record companies, as record sales skyrocketed during the World War Two and Post-War periods. At the height of the industry in the 1950s, there were an estimated 750,000 jukeboxes in the United States. [6]
To learn more about early record companies, please click here.
Please visit the following hyperlinks to learn about the Jukebox’s Role in American Culture or the role of Record Companies in the Music Industry.
Notes
[1] Kerry Segrave, Jukeboxes: An American Social History (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2002.), 2.
[2] Kerry Segrave. 4.
[3] Matt Blitz, “How the Jukebox Got Its Groove” (Popular Mechanics, June 6, 2016.) Accessed September 9, 2019. https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a21127/how-the-jukebox-got-its-groove/
[4] “Jukebox” (Jukebox – Encyclopedia.com) Accessed October 16, 2019. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/computers-and-electrical-engineering/computers-and-computing/jukebox
[5 ] Companies That Made Jukeboxes. Accessed October 16, 2019. http://www.jitterbuzz.com/jukeboxes_companies.html#compa
[6] “Jukebox” Jukebox-Encyclopedia.com