Electrical transcription

Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting, which were widely used during the "Golden Age of Radio". They provided material—from station-identification jingles and commercials to full-length programs—for use by local stations, which were affiliates of one of the radio networks.

Physically, electrical transcriptions look much like long-playing records, but differ from consumer-oriented recordings, in two major capacities: they are more often than not larger than 12 inches (300 mm) across, often 16 or 17+1⁄4 inches (410 or 440 mm) and would not fit on consumer playback equipment, and were recorded in a hill-and-dale, or vertical, recording, as distinct from the lateral playback systems in (monophonic) consumer equipment. As non-commercial recordings, they were distributed only to radio stations for the purpose of broadcast, and not for sale to the public. The ET had higher quality audio than was available on consumer records, largely because they had less surface noise than commercial recordings. As well, electrical transcriptions were often pressed on vinylite, instead of the more common shellac, and the vertical recordings eliminated rumble and other noises from the playback systems of the day.