INTRODUCTION In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the first phonograph. It was a device capable of producing sound by mechanically cutting grooves on cylinders of tinfoil. Originally used to reproduce voices, Edison could never have foreseen the profound effects his invention would have on musical consciousness (Koenigsberg, 1969). By producing the first sound recording, Edison was essentially catalyzing the reordering of music in time and space. By 1910, the subsequent development of mass-produced phonograph records would have profound economic and aesthetic effects. It has forever changed the way music is produced, listened to and distributed. For the first time, music became a commodity; the performance of music had become a material object to be possessed (Suisman, 2012). For the first time, musicians are able to hear themselves, the way they have been heard by their audiences, with a profound effect on their songwriting and performance practices. Notions of musical culture become confused. Just as music today travels easily and is easily accessible from outside its realm of tradition, so too can music from the past be brought into the present. Music is no longer a collective affair (Tehranian, 2012). Public sounds are brought in and given new individualized meanings. From Edison's first aluminum cylinders, all audio recording technology up to that time, which includes the eighth track, record, and audio cassette, had relied on recording sound waves in the air into physical transcriptions or magnetic patterns which now adjusts the waveform of the original sound (Edward Tatnall; CG Burke; Irving Kolodin. Canby, 1952). In 1973, Thomas Stockham, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, c...... middle of paper...... is not possible with other audio techniques (Elsea, 1996). CONCLUSION Although stagnant in recent years, there have been exciting events and key figures influencing the way we record digitally in the analog-to-digital period. While it's true that MP3 file sharing has definitely revolutionized the way we create and listen to music, these things have happened before. Both the radio and the VCR disrupted the traditional ways in which music was produced and disseminated. Digital audio has come a long way. From analog eight-track recorders using tape, technological advances have allowed people to use binary codes to digitally create an infinite amount of tracks. With digital audio in the cloud, streaming, or overwhelming sales of physical albums, digital audio has left a lasting impression on the music industry that will continue to improve and expand over time.