Streaming music from a variety of genres and periods. **Limited to 10 users at a time. Please click "Sign Out" and close the website when you are done.
Music and video recordings, scores, and reference books covering all periods, genres, and cultures of music.
Field collections created by ethnomusicologists and focused on music traditions all around the world.
Streaming concerts, operas, ballets, documentaries, educational programs, and master classes focused around classical music.
Streaming performances from the Metropolitan Opera, including videos from the Live in HD series, with synopses and subtitles in English.
| 1877 | Edison cylinder, primary recording format through beginning of 20th century |
| 1889 | gramophone record introduced, in various sizes and playback speeds |
| c.1910 | 78 rpm 10-inch shellac disc becomes dominant consumer format |
| c.1924 | Western Electric commercializes electronic recording |
| 1935 | AEG develops first practical magnetic tape recorder |
| 1948 | Columbia Records introduces the vinyl "LP" - still the standard format for analog discs |
| 1954 | EMI releases first stereophonic tapes (on reels) |
| 1963 | Phillips introduces the standard compact cassette |
| 1979 | Sony releases Walkman, creating the portable music market |
| 1982 | Sony and Phillips jointly develop the Compact Disc |
| 1994 | CD-R "burners" available in consumer market |
| 1995 | MP3 format released, allowing for compression of digital audio into small files |
| 2001 | Apple releases first iPod |
| 2008 | Launch of Spotify |
Analog Discs
Discs were made in various size and speed combinations, but these are the most common:
Digital Discs
Magnetic Tape