[78-L] Average age was

[Steven]

From: Michael Biel 
> > Subject: [78-L] Average age was
> > From: Malcolm Smith <malcolms at redshift.com>
> > I started collecting in the early fifties in NY city and at club 
> > meetings it was a mixture of young and old. 
>
> Of course 78s were still with us, and LPs were the new exciting thing. 
I've just been reading some Record Changer magazines from 1949-1952,
seeing the growth and sudden demise of the independent re-issue labels. 
>
Oddly enough, it was the sudden growth of the "independent re-issue"
labels that led to their "sudden" demise! All of this vintage jazz material
was "owned" by Victor and/or American Record Corporation; however,
neither firm was aware of the amount of interest in the stuff...! When
the "pirate" re-issue operations became rather successful (as well as
profitable..!), Victor and particularly ARC realized the potential value
of re-issuing the material. They quickly forced the new labels to shut
down...and started their own re-issue projects!

Steven C. Barr