Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of 33+13 rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl (a copolymer of vinyl chloride acetate) composition disk. Introduced by Columbia in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry. Apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound, it remained the standard format for record albums (during a period in popular music known as the album era) until its gradual replacement from the 1980s to the early 2000s, first by cassettes, then by compact discs, and finally by digital music distribution.
Beginning in the late 2000s, the LP has experienced a resurgence in popularity.
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Records.
Artists who have recorded for Columbia Records include AC/DC, Adele, Aerosmith, Louis Armstrong, Gene Autry, Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Leonard Bernstein, Beyoncé, Blue Öyster Cult, the Byrds, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, Chicago, The Clash, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Doris Day, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Earth, Wind & Fire, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, Journey, Johnny Mathis, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Santana, Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and numerous others.