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Charles MacIntosh of Glasgow, Scotland, UK, Europe, patents a waterproof fabric which will give its name as a generic term for raincoats - The Mackintosh. Songs inspired by raincoats include Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen (1971), Wearing A Raincoat by They Might be Giants (2004) and Yellow Raincoat by Justin Bieber.
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Thomas Edison is granted a patent in the USA, No 382,414, in connection with a burnishing attachment for his invention, the phonograph. He is also granted a patent, No 382,416, in connection with a feed and return mechanism for the phonograph.
Thomas Edison is granted patent No. 648,935 in connection with his invention of an apparatus for duplicating phonograph records.
Henry Rodemeyer of Manhattan, New York City, USA, files a patent application for his invention of an improved 'sounder' for stringed musical instruments.
Emil C Reutlinger and Richard Schaller of West Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, file US patent No.7I2,595 in respect of their invention of a "Mechanical singing bird."
Henry Price Ball of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and Samuel Insull of New York City, file Patent Application No US736571A in respect of their invention of a new type of perforating device for automatic music-rolls.
Hans G. Osterberg of Auburn, New York State, USA, applies for a patent in respect of his invention of an improved type of piano tuning pin.
Nicola Turturro of New York City, USA, applies for a patent in respect of an improved design for an instrument of the mandolin type, intended to achieve a largely-increased volume of sound while retaining the peculiar tone quality of the mandolin. His application carries the Serial No. 140,702.
The TELEFUNKEN brand is established in Berlin, Garmany, Europe. The company begins as a manufacturer of radio apparatus but quickly moves into other audio-related fields.
Music trade paper The Music Trade Review in the USA reports that "Henry Waterson, head of the Waterson, Berlin And Snyder Co, is sponsor for a new talking machine record that is only five and one half inches in diameter and sells to the retailer at fifteen cents." The discs will appear on the Little Wonder label, an early budget-priced issue, and will sell 20m copies in the next two years. (The Berlin in question is songwriter Irving Berlin).Société des Phonographes Automatiques Bussoz Frères & de Vère in Paris, France, is granted a patent for a coin-operated phonograph known as a Bussophone.
The modern style jukebox is born when Bertram C. Kenyon, Wilmur W. Boa, and Clifford H. Green apply for a patent for a coin-operated phonograph with a record changing mechanism. As a result, The American Musical Instrument Co [AMI] will introduce the first coin-operated, electrically amplified, twenty-selection phonograph based on a mechanical ten-record system that plays both sides of each disc.
James Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, bans his members from making records, which he claims is a threat to the livelihood of musical performers. The AFM demands that record producers pay a royalty for each commercial disk sold to the public. Union members are also prohibited from recording soundtracks for 'soundies', filmed performances to be played on specially adapted jukeboxes.
It is reported that a patent for a new type of phonograph mechanism which allows the playing of several discs in sequence has been awarded to RCA.
When Capitol Records of Los Angeles, California, USA, releases its first long-playing records, it becomes the first company to to have released recordings at three speeds - 78rpm, 45rpm and 33rpm.
Leroy Anderson, an American composer of short, light concert pieces, finishes work on his latest composition, The Typewriter, in which the main 'musical instrument' used is a typewriter. The piece will become unexpectedly popular with recordings made by many artists, including Arthur Fiedler with the Boston Pops, guitarist Alan Hanlon, Spike Jones, Frederick Fennell with the Eastman Orchestra and also with the Tokyo Wind Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin with the St Louis Symphony, Pinchas Steinberg with the Cologne Radio Orchestra, pianist Marco Rizo, and the 101 Strings.
FM Multiplex stereo broadcasting is introduced in the USA - radio stations across the nation begin broadcasting in stereo for the first time.
The House Committee of Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, meets to discuss the installation of a new hi-fi in the music room.
In an article in UK pop paper the NME (New Musical Express), Derek Johnson questions why there is so much miming on television pop shows.
A new type of tremolo device for stringed instruments is patented in the USA by Jack L. Matthew and Albert Punturi of Detroit, Michigan.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience visit the Marshall Amplification factory in Hanwell, London, UK.
A Russian language version of Conway Twitty's 1970 hit, Hello Darlin' is broadcast worldwide as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Twitty had worked with a University of Oklahoma language professor to record a phonetic Russian version of the song, with the Russian title Privet Radost. The song is perceived as a "gesture of goodwill" from the Apollo crew to the Soviet Union's Soyuz crew.
Radio station WDRC AM in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, installs automated systems to handle overnight music programming.
Compact discs are officially launched in the UK.It is announced that audiocassette sales have overtaken vinyl record sales in the USA.
Green On Red play at The College of Technology, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, Europe, supported by Doctors Children.During a supposedly 'live' gig in Lake Compounce Park, Bristol, Connecticut, USA, the computer controlling manufactured pop duo Milli Vanilli's lip-synch system breaks down. Vocalist Rob Pilatus rushes off stage, ashamed. The incident will ultimately prove that the band were not the originators of the vocals on their records, and will lead to their Grammy Award being rescinded.
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The first Minidisc version of Bob Dylan's classic 1966 album Blonde On Blonde is released in Japan, Asia.
David C. Rockola, best-known for his invention of the Rock-ola range of juke box es, dies aged 96 in Skokie, Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was known to have been in league with the mafia in the early days of his business operations.
Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut announces that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned at The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, Europe. Dolly was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. This scientific breakthough will inspire the song Dolly by Shonen Knife.
It is reported that sales of legally downloaded songs increased more than tenfold in 2004, reaching a total of 200m tracks bought online in the USA and Europe during the twelve month period.
It is announced, while the industry wrestles with copyright infringement problems created by file sharing, that the Warner Music Group plans to launch a digital-only record label (aka an eLabel) intended as a boon to new artists who might not have enough material for an entire album.
During the three-day long WOMAD Festival begins at Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England, UK, Europe, Peter Gabriel, does a live link-up from his dressing room to an astronaut on the International Space Station.The US Department of Justice defends and upholds a $1.92m fine demanded from Minnesota, USA, woman Jammie Thomas-Rasset for illegally downloading 24 songs from a peer-to-peer network.
A study by researchers at The University of Minnesota is published in the Journal Of Broadcast And Electronic Media, claiming to show that listening to rock music, [examples given include Bruce Springsteen and The White Stripes], can make white listeners favour white ethnic groups over other ethnic groups when sharing out funds. White students who were being played Top 40 pop - made by artists such as Gwen Stefani and Akon - distributed the funds more fairly among the other ethnic groups.
Thom Yorke of Atoms For Peace (and Radiohead) and his producer/colleague Nigel Godrich, remove their music from Spotify, claiming that the service is "bad for new music.. The reason is that new artists get paid fuck all with this model.. It's an equation that just doesn't work."
When Tina Turner marries her partner of 27 years, Erwin Bach, on her estate at Lake Zurich, Switzerland, Europe, papparazzi photographer Claudio Meier launches an airborne drone camera in hopes of filming the event, but the attempt is foiled by police. Guests at the wedding include Oprah Winfrey and Bryan Adams.Following a personal rift that led to the band canceling its latest tour, The Jonas Brothers delete their official Twitter page, fuelling speculation that they have split up.
In the early hours of the morning, after playing a gig in Santiago, Chile, South America, Liam Payne of One Direction posts several emotional Tweets which fuel speculation that he has split up with his girlfriend Sophia Smith.
The 2014 Billboard Music Awards event is held at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Justin Timberlake wins as top artist, top male artist and top Billboard 200 Artist for his The 20/20 Experience. Other multiple award winners include Imagine Dragons, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. One extraordinary aspect of the night was a 'performance' by a 'hologram' of Michael Jackson 'singing' Slave To The Rhythm with a live five-piece band and sixteen dancers onstage. (In fact the 'hologram' is actually an old stage magician's trick called Pepper's Ghost which uses a mirror to create a moving onstage image)
The Association of Independent Festivals announces the winners of its first ever Festival Congress Awards at a sold-out ceremony in Portland House, Cardiff, Wales, UK. The full list of award winners is as follows :Outstanding Contribution Award ' Rob da Bank
Supporter of Emerging Talent Award ' 2000 Trees
New Festival on the Block ' Fire in the Mountain
Silver Service Award ' Goan Seafood Company
Unique Festival Site ' Festival No.6
Live Act of the Year ' Catfish And The Bottlemen
Artist for the Audience ' Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Mind-Blowing Spectacle Award ' The Arcadia Spider
Smart Marketing Campaign of the Year ' Bestival Mirror Ball
Random Act of Kindness Award ' End of the Road audience: Festival Wood
Culture And Tourism Award: Forward Thinking Local Authority ' Dorset County Council
Friendliest Security Staff - Showsec
Festival Blogger of the Year ' Shell Zenner
Emmet Brown Award ' Shambala Festival: Fuel Efficient Technology
Festival Venue of the Year ' End of the Road: The Garden Stage
Unsung Hero ' James Goodall
Supermodel Gigi Hadid shares a picture of former One Direction member Zayn Malik posing shirtless while holding her cat, via her Instagram account. The pair have been linked romantically for some while.
Iggy Azalea publishes a new song, Azillion, via the online audio sharing platform Soundcloud. 
It is announced that a Lemmy Kilmister Tribute Mod has been launched, enabling players of the game Grand Theft Auto to play using the recently-decesaed Motorhead frontman as their avatar. Players are reportedly able to "make Lemmy drink, smoke, rock out on the guitar, ride a bad ass chopper, and throw Molotov cocktails, just like the real Lemmy." 
Ed Sheeran makes his return to social media after a year away by tweeting a plain blue square, with no text. The colour is later revealed to be the colour theme of his upcoming singles and album.
European Space Administration astronaut Alexander Gerst has his first interaction with a new artificial intelligence device, CIMON (short for Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN), in the Columbus Lab aboard the International Space Station. During their interaction, Cimon plays the Kraftwerk song The Man Machine at Gersh's request, but does not stop playing the music when Gersh tells him to. Instead Cimon says, "I love music you can dance to." Later, Cimon tells Gersh, "Be nice to me."
Radiohead foil a blackmail plot by publishing 18 hours of music which had been recorded during the making of their 1997 album OK Computer, on the Bandcamp website. The music had been hacked from Radiohead frontman Thom York's personal minidisc archive, and then became the subject of a blackmail threat, with the blackmailer threatening to release the music unless the band paid him $150,000. Instead, the band simply released all of the disputed music with all profits from the release going to the Extinction Rebellion campaign.In his ongoing feud with Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber mocks Swift's recently released 'banana' video in an Instagram Live clip. In the video Swift is seen post-surgery, in tears because of a banana.
Wiley begins a Twitter feud with Stormzy by posting the following message, "I’m old but you was tryna work with jay z who Ed brought in the room Cos if it wasn’t for Ed that session would not of happened lol your not with us your with them #Pagan I am 10 years younger than jay z and I will merc you everyday of the week #YourEasy #TooEasy (sic).” The message is a criticism of Stormzy for having bteamed up with Ed Sheeran on their recent track Own It.1823 |
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