1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,199 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: the world famous Sony Walkman, the compact cassette player that 6 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:33,559 Speaker 1: turned portable music into a personal experience. The day was 7 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: July one, nineteen seventy nine. The original Sony Walkman portable 8 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: cassette player was released in Japan with a price tag 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: of about one hundred and fifty US dollars. The device 10 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: was aimed squarely a Japanese students on the go, but 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: despite its low price and revolutionary concept, the Walkman only 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: sold a meager three thousand units during its first month 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: on the market. Luckily, good word of mouth and a 14 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: clever marketing campaign were able to turn things around, and 15 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: by the following year, the Sony Walkman was a bonafide 16 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:15,199 Speaker 1: global sensation. The idea of a portable music player wasn't 17 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: new in itself. Transistor radios first hit store shelves in 18 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties, granting people more control than ever over 19 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: when and where to listen to music. But the early 20 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: technology had its downsides. For one thing, users had to 21 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: be within range of a radio broadcast station or else 22 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: all they would hear is static, and when they were 23 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: able to pick up a signal, they were still at 24 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: the mercy of the radio programmers and had no say 25 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: in which songs were played. But perhaps the biggest drawback 26 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: to transistor radios was the poor sound quality, especially when 27 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: listening with headphones. The weak, tinny sound was a far 28 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: cry from playing a record on a home stereo, so 29 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: although it was cheap, portable, and better than nothing, the 30 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: listening experience left a lot to be desired. In the 31 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies, portable music players took a giant leap forward 32 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: with the introduction of the boombox. With its powerful built 33 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: in speakers, listeners no longer had to compromise on sound quality, 34 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: and thanks to the addition of a cassette tape deck, 35 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: they were no longer limited to radio playlists either. Still, 36 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: these additions took their toll on the device's portability. A 37 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: boombox couldn't fit in your pocket or even in most backpacks, 38 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: and since the speakers were the main draw, it didn't 39 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: make sense to listen with headphones. Japanese electronics company Sony 40 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: began to address this problem in the late nineteen seventies 41 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: when they launched a range of portable stereo cassette recorders. 42 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,919 Speaker 1: They were niche products with hefty price tags, and because 43 00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: they prioritized recording functions over playback, the devices of appealed 44 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: more to journalists and audio files than to the average consumer. 45 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: That seemed like a wasted opportunity to Sony co founder 46 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: and chairman Masaru Ibuka. He frequently found himself on long 47 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: transatlantic flights wishing that he had a way to listen 48 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: to music without disturbing other passengers. In early nineteen seventy nine, 49 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: he considered bringing one of the company's portable stereo recorders 50 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: to use as a tape player, but the most recent model, 51 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: the TCD five, was too big and too heavy to 52 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: travel with comfortably. That disappointment led Ibuka to wonder if 53 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: a smaller, cheaper tape player could be made, one that 54 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,119 Speaker 1: was meant to be listened to through headphones, a portable 55 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: personal stereo. Masaru Ibuka pitched the idea to his partner 56 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: Akio Morita, and the two agreed it would be a 57 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: perfect product to launch the start of summer vacation on 58 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: July first. The only problem was that was just four 59 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: months away, and it would take much longer to develop 60 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: a new product from scratch. So in order to meet 61 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: the aggressive deadline, Sony's engineers had to get creative. They 62 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: built a working prototype by modifying one of the company's 63 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: existing products, the Sony Pressman, a monaural microcassette recorder that 64 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: was popular among reporters. The team stripped out the Pressman's 65 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: recording mechanism and used the space to add a stereo 66 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: amplifier and a full sized tape tray. Then they whipped 67 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: up a lightweight pair of headphones so that the listener 68 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't have to wear the clunky earmuff like headphones that 69 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: were meant for home stereos. The proto Walkman was exactly 70 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: what Ibuka and Morita had in mind, but some Sony 71 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: executives weren't convinced there was a market for a playback 72 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 1: only portable stereo Ebukaw was baffled by their concern when 73 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: simply responded, quote, don't you think a stereo cassette player 74 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: that you can listen to while walking around is a 75 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: good idea? To say that it was would be an understatement. 76 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: The Sony Walkman, or Walkman, as it was meant to 77 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 1: be pronounced, was launched in Japan on July first, nineteen 78 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: seventy nine, and although sales were slow at first, the 79 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: product made a swift recovery thanks to an ingenious consumer 80 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: marketing campaign. That summer, Sony representatives hit the streets of 81 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: Tokyo and offered passers by the chance to listen to 82 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: the Walkman for themselves. For most it was their first 83 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: time ever seeing or even holding the device. The original 84 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: model was mostly made of metal and colored silver with 85 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: blue accents. At roughly six inches long and three and 86 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: a half inches wide, it wasn't much bigger than a 87 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: standard audio cassette, small enough to hold in one hand 88 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: or to clip onto a belt or bag. Nearly as 89 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: impressive were the compact foam in cased headphones that came 90 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: included with each unit. The people who slipped them on 91 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: that summer were treated to surprisingly rich stereo sound, and 92 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: they must have liked what they heard, because by the 93 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: end of August, Sony had sold through its entire thirty 94 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: thousand unit production run. Some of those units were sold 95 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: to tourists who then returned to their home countries and 96 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: immediately became the envy of every music fan they knew. 97 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,039 Speaker 1: Thanks to the buzz created by those early adopters, the 98 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: Walkman was fast tracked for a US launch in early 99 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty. The only question remaining was what to call 100 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: the device. The Japanese name Walkman was meant to suggest mobility, 101 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: since the major selling point was the freedom to listen 102 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: to whatever you wanted wherever you went. The man part 103 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: was added to evoke both the Sony Pressman and DC 104 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: Comics Superman, a character who had recently returned to prominence 105 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: thanks to the nineteen seventy eight live action movie. Sony 106 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: wasn't sure that such an abstract name would fly overseas, 107 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: so it considered calling the device the Soundabout instead. Sony 108 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: America meanwhile, wanted to call it the Disco Jogger, since 109 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: both disco and jogging were popular in the States. Thankfully, 110 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: cooler heads prevailed, and since people were already in the 111 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 1: habit of calling it the Walkman by that point, the 112 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,679 Speaker 1: original name stayed put. We'll never know how the Sony 113 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: Disco Jogger may have performed, but the Sony Walkman did 114 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: just fine. It sold half a million units worldwide in 115 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty and then tripled that the following year. The 116 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: Walkman changed its look many times over the next three decades, 117 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: evolving with music's changing mediums, from tapes to CDs and 118 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: even to MP three's, But the shift to music's dreaming 119 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: in the early twenty first century proved to be the 120 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: device's downfall, and in twenty ten, Sony announced that the 121 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: original cassette tape line would be discontinued for good. The 122 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: device itself may be obsolete except to guardians of the 123 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: Galaxy cause players, but the personalized music revolution started by 124 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: the Sony Walkman is still alive today. With smartphones and earbuds, 125 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: people continue to act as their own DJs, creating soundtracks 126 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: to their lives and carrying music with them wherever they go. 127 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: I'm Gay, Blues Gay, and hopefully you now know a 128 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 129 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 130 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 131 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free 132 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: to send them my way by writing to this day 133 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazy Bias for producing 134 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see 135 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in history class.