The Compact Disc turns 25

First worldwide presentation of the Philips CD Audio made by Joop Sinjou, Head of Philips CD-Lab on March 9th, 1979 (Photo: Joop Sinjou (C))

Article Summary

August 17, 2007 In an event that marked the shift from analogue to the new digital era in the music industry, the world’s first compact disc rolled off the production line at a Philips factory in Langenhagen, Germany, twenty-five years ago today. Philips and Sony co-developed the CD (which was invented by American James T. Russell in the late 1960s) and an estimated 200 billion have been sold around the world in last quarter of a century - that’s enough to circle the earth six times.

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