This work on the recording industry covers the ground from Edison's talking tin foil of 1887 to the age of the compact disk. It charts the evolution of recorded sound and asks: what goes on in the recording industry; how does it affect the music; and do we listen to music differently from our forebears because of reproduction? Michael Chanan is the author of "The Dream that Kicks", "The Cuban Image" and "Musica Practica".