The rise of the LP: the politics of diffusion innovation in the recording industry

Abstract

This article investigates how the standardisation of the 45 RPM single and 33 RPM album in 1951 forced the recording industry to rethink their marketing strategies. The industry’s focus on weak unit strategies and capitalisation on the emergent artistic aesthetic are evaluated. To establish correlations between strategies and the popularity of singles and albums between 1955 and 1979, OLS models were generated using large datasets on chart performance of albums and singles. This study concludes that the industry tended toward sub-optimal, risk-averse strategies, and that the LP likely succeeded despite record companies’ efforts to control their products and messaging.

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