Compact Disc (CD)

Phillips and Sony co-developed the popular CD audio format and released it first in Japan in 1982. CDs use the Red Book audio standard to store uncompressed stereo audio on one-sided discs that are read by a laser. Original plans were to create a format that would hold 60 minutes of audio. However, a Sony executive named Norio Ohga insisted the new format have enough capacity to listen to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on one disc, which explains why CDs hold at least 74 minutes of music.

Through the 1980s and 1990s CDs surpassed vinyl records and compact cassettes in sales volume, and by 2000 CDs accounted for more than 92% of music sales in the US. Its reign in the music format wars was short lived, as MP3 players like the Apple iPod and streaming music services took off in the early 2000s.

Share your thoughts