The Creation of the Compact Disc

From Collaboration to Revolution

In the late 1970s, L.F. Ottens, a technical executive at Philips, sent a telex to Sony’s chairman, Norio Ohga. The message was brief: “If you happen to come to Europe, please visit us.” What seemed like a simple invitation became the starting point for a groundbreaking collaboration that changed the way the world listened to music

A New Vision for Music

By the 1970s, leading manufacturers were exploring ways to harness digital audio, aiming to replace the vinyl record. Philips, building on their optical videodisc technology, had developed the Audio Long-Playing (ALP) disc, an 11.5 cm prototype capable of holding an hour of music. In 1978, Ottens invited Ohga to Philips’ headquarters in Eindhoven to showcase the innovation.

Ohga wasn’t your typical executive. A trained orchestra conductor and passionate music lover, he immediately recognized the ALP disc’s potential. Compact, durable, and offering superior sound quality, it was poised to surpass the LP. Ohga saw it as the next step in Son…