It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Simon Blumlein Simon was the eldest son of Alan Dower Blumlein, one of the UK’s greatest and most consequential inventors and technologists of the 20th Century during his time working for EMI in the 1930s and 1940s

NIPPER RUNS AMOK! This ‘Mutoscope’ was commissioned by the German branch of the Gramophone Company, and sent to the London branch in October 1900. It comprises 700 photographs mounted onto cards and attached to a drum wheel, when the drum is turned in a ‘What The Butler Saw’ type of machine, it gives the impression… Read more »

The Sound of the Hound is a podcast about the people and the technology that brought recorded music to the masses in Victorian London and beyond. Hosted by journalist and author James Hall and music industry executive and EMI Archive Trustee Dave Holley, The Sound of the Hound chronicles the adventures of the early sound… Read more »

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR USE OF COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES Our Site uses cookies and other similar technologies (as described below) to distinguish you from other users of our Site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our Site, allows us to improve our Site and provide you with tailored… Read more »

This notice explains how and why The EMI Archive Trust (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) collect, store, use and share your personal data. It also explains your rights in relation to your personal data and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint. We collect, use and are responsible for certain… Read more »

Introduction This Data Protection Policy is an internal document which sets out the principles that EMI Archive Trust (“we”, “our”, “us”, “the Trust”) must comply with when using Personal Data, and the practical steps that we take to apply those principles.  This policy applies to everyone who works for or on behalf of the Trust,… Read more »

The EMI Archive Trust aims to provide wide access to its collections for education and research purposes. We have made reasonable efforts to ensure material on this website is either in the public domain or licensed to/owned by us. However, if you believe that we have used any content without proper permission or attribution, please… Read more »

The EMI Archive Trust would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce photographs and trademarks on this site and we ask visitors to our digital channels to kindly respect their copyright: Polar expedition photo by Herbert G Ponting © SPRI, University of Cambridge Trademarks Dog and trumpet logo © HMV Columbia… Read more »

The 1920s witnessed astonishing technological change, and music was being left completely behind

And technology. And fashion. And politics. And much much more Plus how the UK’s introduction to jazz had almost nothing to do with actual jazz