Along with visual culture there co-existed the autiditory culture propagated by music and radio. Theatre and performance styles developed slowly in the 1950s but did not flourished until late in the decade. The sudden growth of the music industry can be attributed to the changing consumer tastes and an expanding market for records and live events. The record industry had a setback during the war time because of production restriction but the case suddenly improved just one year and after the launch of 33rpm twelve inch disc and the 45rpm single by 1949. The five giants Decca, Capitol, RCA-Victor, Columbia and ABC-Paramount quickly capitalised on the increase in disposable income especially among middle-class teenagers. The launch of Billboard Top 40 in 1951 changed the way music was played on radio. Formulaic programming was
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Top 40 tried to efface regional differences by opting a standardized format. The young adults and teenagers who were attracted by the fast changing postwar fashion wanted to discover their own sound and was appeased by producers, musical arrangers and promoters. While the record industry flourished radio suffered due to the fierce challenge from the fledgling TV. By 1953 radio audience dipped. The threat of HUAC made experimental radio drama almost a taboo. Radio still remained a popular source for people through the 1950s. There was only a slight change in the listening pattern. Radio audience dipped only during the prime time but peaked during drive time and late evenings (Douglas 220). With portable transistor radios and car radios meant that listening was no longer confined to home alone and it was one of the reasons why automobiles and rock ‘n’ roll are linked as cultural symbols of the decade. The emergence of DJ as a personality created greater bond with radios. It gave upper hand over centralised television. By late 1940s and 1950s small radio stations proliferated in specific regions and hence socially
Top 40 tried to efface regional differences by opting a standardized format. The young adults and teenagers who were attracted by the fast changing postwar fashion wanted to discover their own sound and was appeased by producers, musical arrangers and promoters. While the record industry flourished radio suffered due to the fierce challenge from the fledgling TV. By 1953 radio audience dipped. The threat of HUAC made experimental radio drama almost a taboo. Radio still remained a popular source for people through the 1950s. There was only a slight change in the listening pattern. Radio audience dipped only during the prime time but peaked during drive time and late evenings (Douglas 220). With portable transistor radios and car radios meant that listening was no longer confined to home alone and it was one of the reasons why automobiles and rock ‘n’ roll are linked as cultural symbols of the decade. The emergence of DJ as a personality created greater bond with radios. It gave upper hand over centralised television. By late 1940s and 1950s small radio stations proliferated in specific regions and hence socially