Exoticism on Record

Abstract This chapter studies the transnational circulations of acoustic sound recordings in the early twentieth century by way of branding, cataloging, retailing, exoticizing, and other marketing operations attuned to the capitalist, industrial, and colonial tenets of talking machine imperialism. As the recording technology turned otherwise ephemeral sounds into tangible and portable artifacts (aka “records”), the globalizing adventures of the business furthered the widespread dissemination of hitherto local musics and other cultural practices. That often happened by tapping into former and vibrant mechanisms for the transnational circulation of people and objects. While this is a story of the growth of record catalogs and distribution networks, it is also a history of dancing, musical piracy, and the growing competition between transnational corporations and local entrepreneurs.