XIII- 8
wall well before Edison.
Victor, Brunswick, and Columbia gradually cornered the market
on records and the big three had the additional advantage that
their machines could play each other's laterally-cut
recordings. Maxwell was thinking about the
psychological and philosophical problems involved catering
to the public's musical tastes. The need for absolutely flat
surface take the vertically-cut groove meant that the Edison
records were larger and heavier. Maxwell realized that manufacturers
had pander changing musical tastes. the other hand, the Edison company maintained
its position splendid isolation with its hill-and-dale
records which were unique the industry. This did not bother Edison,
. Their premium recordings brought the company brand
recognition, and although not every record buyer wanted hear
a classical record, they did buy Victor recordings more
popular singers, such Michael McCormack, and jazz records. Edison preferred to
educate the user into the joys "good music" (as defined by
Edison) had educated customers before other new
technologies introduced. Edison records had
to twice the thickness the competition's discs order
to take the vertical cut." ^
Victor's domination the disc market rested not only on
an excellent machine but also successful marketing
strategy. accurately predicted that
"the company who correctly solves these problems will dominate
the trade. While Edison experimented the
design reproducers
