Session: 1234567891011121314151617         Page 585586587588589590591592593594595596597598599600601602603604605606607608609610611612613614615616617618619620621622623624625626627 of 755

because of radio's competition, and it was available. I think CBS paid $725,000 for the company.

I was not a part in any way of that acquisition, because I was a lowly hand in CBS at the time. But I did get involved in some market-testing, as to whether the label was well known and also to find out something about how many people had record players. I developed that information for Paley--or for CBS, just as AEA does that kind of thing when they're looking at something.

Then CBS acquired it and hired a man who ran the Victor Company. The Victor Company had the lion's share of the classical music in this country, and certainly, I think, probably the lion's share of the popular music as well. Then that company was acquired by RCA, and it was RCA Victor.

I believe about the time RCA acquired the Victor Phonograph Company, the CEO, or the man who ran the Victor Company, was approached by Columbia Records--or by CBS--to come over and run Columbia Records. His name was Ed [Edward] Wallerstein. We bought, in buying him, a lot of expertise and certainly bought our competitor. Or the man who ran our competitor. And for many years he ran what was Columbia Records.

After the War or perhaps during the War--I'm talking now World War II--[Peter] Goldmark, who was the head of our laboratories and the inventor that had done a lot of work in television, was an audio expert, and Peter came up with the idea that you could have a single 12-inch record that played up to a half-hour on each side. That became known as the “LP” or long-playing record.