Musical purists have always been wary of how new technologies might affect what they do. In the 1920s, musicians and record companies were frightened to death of a new thing called “radio” for a couple of reasons.
First, if people could hear music in their homes for free, why would they ever go out to see musical performances ever again? Second, if radio stations played records, who would ever buy records?
In both cases, the fear was that this new tech would wipe out hundreds if not thousands of jobs. There were protests and strikes and demands that radio stations not be allowed to play records as part of their daily programming.
After a period of adjustment, everyone realized that music on the radio was a good thing for everyone and things settled down. But not for long. More next time.
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