In the early years of radio, it was dominated by amateur operators and the public generally built their own receivers. This changed as the industry experienced notable growth during the 1920’s and expanded from a “live” medium to include previously recorded works. Radio advertising grew, networks began to form, and the first round of regulation was welcomed in order to establish better frequencies, free speech protections, equality amongst broadcasting stations, and that radio waves were public property (Adams). Fueled by the rapid exploration of technological changes in recording, this growth was able to sustain itself throughout one of the most turbulent times in American history because it provided cheap entertainment.
By the mid 1930’s, a period considered to be its Golden Age, a radio could be found in over half of American homes and in over a million cars (Scott, 2008). The 1940’s were plagued with battles in the recording industry as live artists felt threatened by “canned” music and recording disk speeds were not uniform. Eventually, the 45 would become the industry standard for singles and the 331/3 LP would rule in album sales (Dominick, 2013). The growth of radio had built large corporations and therefore the need for regulation reform was acknowledged through the Communications Act of 1934 …show more content…
Those that couldn’t became obsolete and radio became a noted medium for selling music among other things. Radio resurged as Rock and Roll emerged in the 1950’s and people could connect with artists of different backgrounds via television, radio, and print. AM radio dominated the airwaves well into the 1960’s and Top 40 became the popular format. The domestic and world affairs greatly impacted the sounds of the decades as the nation has struggled with equality, civil rights, censorship, de-regulation, and automation well into the