Sony Launches CD Player: Digital Music Era Begins
Sony's CDP-101 hit Japanese stores on October 1, 1982, priced at 168,000 yen, roughly $730. The first disc available was Billy Joel's 52nd Street. Within months, Philips released its own player in Europe. The compact disc promised perfect sound reproduction with no wear from repeated plays, a claim that seduced audiophiles and casual listeners alike. Record labels saw a goldmine: CDs cost pennies to press but sold for $15, double the price of a vinyl LP. By 1988, CD sales surpassed vinyl. By 1991, they surpassed cassettes. The format that Sony and Philips jointly developed dominated music distribution for two decades before digital downloads and streaming made the physical disc itself feel like a relic of the analog era it replaced.
October 1, 1982
44 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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