In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album (LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standalone tracks or connected to an artist's album, and in the latter case would often have at least one single release before the album itself, called lead singles.
An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. An EP is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".
A phonograph record or a vinyl record is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near the outside edge and ends near the center of the disc. The stored sound information is made audible by playing the record on a phonograph.
The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applications, music, audiovisual, and print materials. The Archive also advocates a free and open Internet. Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge".
RCA Records is an American record label. Since 2008, it has been owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape, or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in a bound book resembling a photo album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33+1⁄3 rpm.
Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them on subsidiary labels. The company's began releasing jazz records in 78 and 45 RPM formats in 1950. The Prestige label includes the 13000 and 25000 cat# series. Prestige International was a sub-label of Prestige, active from 1960 to 1969, that mostly released folk music. In 1971, the company was sold to Fantasy, which was later absorbed by Concord.
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union.
Record collecting is the hobby of collecting sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, reading, historical speeches, and ambient noises. Although the typical focus is on vinyl records, all formats of recorded music can be collected.
Audio restoration is the process of removing imperfections from sound recordings. Audio restoration can be performed directly on the recording medium, or on a digital representation of the recording using a computer. Record restoration is a particular form of audio restoration that seeks to repair the sound of damaged gramophone records.
The LP is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of 33+1⁄3 rpm; a 12- or 10-inch diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl composition disk. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire US record industry and, apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound in 1957, it remained the standard format for record albums during a period in popular music known as the album era. LP was originally a trademark of Columbia and competed against the smaller 7-inch sized "45" or "single" format by RCA Victor, eventually ending up on top. Today in the vinyl revival era, a large majority of records are based on the LP format and hence the LP name continues to be in use today to refer to new records.
The AES coarse-groove calibration discs (AES-S001-064) are a boxed set of two identical discs, one for routine use, one for master reference. The intent is to characterize the reproduction chain for the mass transfer of coarse-groove records to digital media, much like using a photographic calibration reference in image work.
The ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC) is a non-profit music library and archive based in New York City. It contains over five million items.
Video Yesteryear, Inc., was an American distributor and retailer of public domain films, archival radio shows, and film soundtracks. It was founded in 1965 by J. David Goldin, who originally operated the company from his home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, before moving to Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Formerly known as Radio Yesteryear, the company distributed old radio shows on LP records, audio cassettes, reel-to-reel, and, for a short time, 8-track tapes. Beginning in 1978, the company began releasing public domain films on VHS, Betamax, and 8 mm film.
Michael Graves is an American mastering engineer. He specializes in audio restoration and audio preservation. Graves is a five-time Grammy award-winner and a fourteen-time Grammy nominee. He is widely considered one of the best audio engineers in his field. Country singer Hank Williams' daughter Jett praised Graves' work on her father's Grammy-winning album The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, calling it "the best restoration I’ve ever heard before, the 1% of 1% of restoration engineering."
The Diaz Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection-FIU, located in the City of Sweetwater, Miami-Dade County, Florida, is a Special Collection of Latin American Music donated to Florida International University Libraries in 2001 by the Cuban discographer Cristobal Diaz Ayala.
Music of Hawaii is a compilation album containing five 78rpm records of Hawaiian music issued by Decca Records.
Patriotic Songs for Children is a compilation album of three 78rpm phonograph records. The recordings are all of American patriotic songs sung by Bing Crosby and Frank Luther.
