LP record
longplay record
The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by a speed of 33+1⁄3 rpm, a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter, use of the "microgroove" groove specification, and a black vinyl (a copolymer of vinyl chloride acetate) composition disk. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire US record industry and, apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound in 1957, it remained the standard format for record albums during a period in popular music known as the "album era". LP was originally a trademark of Columbia and competed against the smaller 7-inch sized "45" or "single" format by RCA Victor, eventually ending up on top. Today in the vinyl revival era, a large majority of records are based on the LP format, and hence the LP name continues to be in use today to refer to new records.
Format advantages
At the time the LP was introduced, nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of an abrasive (and therefore noisy) shellac compound, employed a much larger groove, and played at approximately 78 revolutions per minute (rpm), limiting the playing time of a 12-inch diameter record to less than five minutes per side. The new product was a 12- or 10-inch (30 or 25 cm) fine-grooved disc made of PVC ("vinyl") and played with a smaller-tipped "microgroove" stylus at a speed of 33+1⁄3 rpm. Each side of a 12-inch LP could play for about 25 minutes, allowing for a total runtime of approximately 50 minutes.
History
Despite some earlier experiments and attempts at commercial marketing, the Long Play format did not begin to enjoy commercial popularity until the early 1950s.
Predecessors
Starting in 1926, the Edison Records company experimented with issuing Edison Disc Records in long play format of 24 minutes per side. The system and playback system (still mostly wind-up phonographs) proved unreliable and was a commercial failure.
“LP record” enters the record as longplay record. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what longplay can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“LP record” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, longplay provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q841983. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1948, 1957 and 1926.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “LP record”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow LP record primary sources, LP record archive and longplay research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “LP record” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.