What was the Battle of the Speeds — Columbia LP vs RCA Victor 45, how it was resolved, and its connection to EQ curves
What was the "Battle of the Speeds"?
Question answered on this page: What was the "Battle of the Speeds" between the LP and the 45 rpm disc in the late 1940s? How was it resolved? How does it relate to EQ curves?
Overview
The "Battle of the Speeds" was a format war that erupted in the U.S. record industry around 1948–1950. Columbia's 33⅓ rpm LP and RCA Victor's 45 rpm disc competed to succeed the existing 78 rpm record.
The outcome was a market segmentation: the LP for albums and the 45 for singles. The resolution came not through technical superiority of one format over the other, but through a division of labor based on market needs.
The catalyst: the Columbia LP
On June 18, 1948, Columbia Records officially unveiled the 33⅓ rpm LP (Long Playing Microgroove) record at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Available in 10-inch and 12-inch formats, its defining feature was a dramatic increase in playing time per side compared to the conventional 78 rpm shellac disc.
Prior to the announcement, Columbia had offered to license the technology to its rival RCA Victor. RCA declined.
→ For details on the Columbia LP launch, see blog post Pt.11
RCA Victor's response: the 45 rpm disc "Madame X"
After the Columbia LP announcement, rumors spread within the industry that RCA Victor was preparing its own new format.
On January 9, 1949, Columbia announced a 7-inch 33⅓ rpm disc (intended as a replacement for the 78 rpm single). The very next day, January 10, 1949, RCA Victor officially introduced its 7-inch 45 rpm disc — developed under the codename "Madame X" — along with a dedicated automatic changer.
RCA Victor's 45 rpm system was marketed not on extended playing time but on fast, continuous playback via a compact automatic changer. The large center spindle hole allowed for a smaller changer mechanism, and it was also claimed that the format reduced the raw material (vinyl compound) needed for pressing.
→ For the technical background of the RCA Victor 45 rpm system, see blog post Pt.13
How other labels responded
As the "Battle of the Speeds" unfolded between Columbia and RCA Victor, other labels watched cautiously.
| Date | Label | Response |
|---|---|---|
| January 1949 | Mercury | Joined the LP camp. One of the earliest entrants after Columbia |
| February 1949 | Capitol | Joined the 45 rpm camp (initially outsourcing pressing to RCA Victor) |
| July 1949 | Three majors | Peace negotiations among Columbia, RCA Victor, and Decca collapsed |
| August 1949 | Decca | Chose the LP |
| August 1949 | Capitol | Also adopted the LP fully. Became the first label to support all three speeds |
| April 1950 | RCA Victor | Began releasing 33⅓ rpm LPs |
| August 1950 | Columbia | Began releasing 45 rpm discs |
Most labels had favored the LP from the outset as a replacement for albums — especially for classical works of extended length. The advantage of fitting an entire 78 rpm binder album onto a single disc was obvious.
→ For details on each label's participation, see blog post Pt.14
Resolution: market segmentation
The "Battle of the Speeds" did not end with one format winning outright.
In 1950, when RCA Victor began releasing LPs and Columbia began releasing 45 rpm discs, the division of LPs for albums and 45s for singles became established. Columbia's 7-inch 33⅓ rpm disc quietly disappeared around 1951, and RCA Victor's 45 rpm albums (multi-disc box sets and binder sets) had largely vanished by the mid-1950s.
The essence of this resolution was not which format was technically superior, but that each format served a different market need.
The connection to EQ curves
The "Battle of the Speeds" is closely connected to the history of EQ curves.
The Columbia LP used the Columbia LP curve. This recording curve had characteristics similar to the 1942 NAB curve.
RCA Victor's 45 rpm disc used the Old Orthophonic curve. This was the same recording curve RCA Victor was using for its 78 rpm records at the time. It was fundamentally similar to the later New Orthophonic (i.e., RIAA) curve, but differed in that it had no bass shelf and applied a low-pass filter in the high frequencies.
In other words, during the Battle of the Speeds, not only the formats but also the EQ curves were not unified. This confusion was one of the factors that strengthened calls across the industry for a standardized EQ curve — which ultimately became RIAA.
→ What EQ curves existed before RIAA?
→ When was the RIAA curve established?
Related pages
- → What was the Columbia LP curve? — details on the Columbia LP curve
- → Why did RIAA become the standard? — standardization after the Battle of the Speeds
- → The technical background of the Columbia LP (blog post Pt.12)
- → The RCA Victor 45 rpm system (blog post Pt.13)
Revision History
- April 8, 2026: Initial publication