Stage to Studio: Musicians and the Sound Revolution, 1890-1950(9 Studies in Industry and Society)

Between the late-19th and mid-20th century, technology transformed the entertainment industry as much as it did such heavy industries as coal and steel. Among those most directly affected were musicians, who had to adapt to successive inventions and refinements in audio technology - from wax cylinders and gramophones to radio and sound films. In this study, James P. Kraft explores the intersection of sound technology, corporate power and artistic labour during this disruptive period. Kraft begins in the late-19th century's "golden age" of musicians, when demand for skilled instrumentalists often exceeded supply, analyzing the conflicts in concert halls, nightclubs, recording studios, radio stations and Hollywood studios as musicians began to compete not only against their local counterparts but also against highly skilled workers in national "entertainment factories". Kraft offers an illuminating case study in the impact of technology on industry and society - and a provocative chapter in the cultural history of America.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Working Scales in Industrial America Chapter 2. Boom and Bust in Early Movie Theaters Chapter 3. Encountering Records and Radio Chapter 4. Playing in Hollywood Between the Wars Chapter 5. Rising Militancy Chapter 6. Recording Ban Chapter 7. Balancing Success and Failure Conclusion Appendix. AFM Membership, 1896–1956 Notes Essay on Sources Index

About the Author :
James P. Kraft is associate professor of history at the University of Hawaii.

Review :
Historians might not have answers to the questions of technology displacing and deskilling workers, but they can lay out the facts and be sympathetic to the victims. This Kraft has done. He writes clearly and without bias, [and] has an understanding of his subjects that comes from his own background as a musician. -- Andre Millard American Historical Review In Stage to Studio, James Kraft presents a concise, well-researched, and well-written historical account of the actions and reactions of unionized musicians as they faced new technologies and changing conditions of labor in early twentieth-century America... an important contribution to the literature on organized workers in America. -- Emily Thompson Technology and Culture Combining techniques from social history, labor history, and the history of technology, Kraft weaves together archival material, oral history data, and secondary sources to produce an accessible narrative and a rich analysis. -- Harris M. Berger Antenna