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Music and the Rise of Radio in 1920s America: Technological imperialism, socialization, and the transformation of intimacy

2002; Routledge; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/0143968022000012138

1465-3451

Timothy D. Taylor,

Radio, Podcasts, and Digital Media

The effect of radio cannot be underestimated. It was perhaps the most important electronic technological innovation of the 20th century, at least in the US. It recone gured notions of public and private, helped usher in a new form of the consumer economy, played a large role in the creation of the star system in the entertainment industry, gave the country the e rst mass-media superstar in popular music, Rudy Vallee, and more. While some scholarly literature (though not much) has paid attention to the programming of music on the air, this essay considers the early days of radio and the rhetoric surrounding the period immediately following its development, and the role that music played in promoting radio. This historical moment in the rise of a technology seems to be a particularly interesting juncture, especially with respect to radio. Workers in the e eld of science and technology studies (STS) tend to concentrate on the development of a new technology, or its subsequent uses, but less attention is given to the way that a technology in development is pushed and cajoled into social existence. It is this long moment that is of interest here. Radio hobbyists proselytized on its behalf in countless articles. Dozens of discussions in the early radio press suggested ways of using the radio— on the beach, in the car, in the boat, camping— so that readers could learn how to integrate the new technology into their everyday lives. Since music was prominently featured on the air in the early days of radio, especially before the rise of the comedy programs, music played an important role in the championing of radio and its early uses.