The Directory provides an indepth examination of the growth of the American disc record industry from the introduction of Berliner's disc Gramophone through the Petrillo recording ban. It examines the histories of more than 330 labels and their manufacturers, chronicalling the growth of the disc record from a crude toy in the 1890s to a multi-million dollar industry in the early 1940s. In this process, the Directory shows how power eventually came to rest in the hands of several major manufacturers.
Taken largely from original source material, The Directory reveals master sources, master leasing policies, as well as examples of outright piracy. By tracing technological developments, corporate relationships, and the effects of changing musical tastes on the early record industry, Sutton provides an invaluable reference tool for all libraries and researchers concerned with recordings and the record industry.