Tel-musici
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications, Entertainment |
| Founded | January 1, 1908 in Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Founder | George R. Webb |
| Defunct | 1914 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington , United States |
Area served | Wilmington, Delaware |
Key people | George R. Webb (president), J. J. Comer (general manager) |
| Products | Telephone-based phonograph music delivery service ("Tel-musici") |
The Tel-musici represented an early form of entertainment technology that utilized telephone lines to deliver phonograph recordings directly to homes. Subscribers would place calls to a centralized "music room" to select pieces, which were then played back through specially engineered loudspeakers known as "magnaphones." Over time, the service expanded its offerings to include live broadcasts, gradually transforming into a broader "telephone newspaper" format.
A company dedicated to Tel-musici was established in Delaware in 1908, commencing operations the following year in Wilmington. Although there were ambitions for a nationwide rollout, only this single facility became functional and ultimately discontinued service around 1914.
History
George R. Webb, the inventor behind Tel-musici, played a central role in its development. In January 1908, while seeking financial backers, he showcased the concept at a hotel in Baltimore, where attendees could phone in requests such as "'10 cents' worth of Lohengrin" or "'a quarter's worth of ragtime'," which were then played on demand. Soon after this demonstration, Baltimore investors incorporated a Tel-musici company in Delaware with an initial capital of $10,000.
The system officially began operations in Wilmington in 1909, with Webb serving as president and J. J. Comer as general manager. The music collection was extensive and kept current with recent releases. Pricing was set at three cents for standard songs and seven cents for grand opera selections, with subscribers committing to a minimum of $18 in yearly purchases. Additionally, a general programming option was introduced as an alternative to individual song requests.
Expansion efforts focused on partnerships with local telephone providers. Eventually, the Wilmington service was overseen by the Wilmington and Philadelphia Traction Co., which held the area's telephone franchise. Advertisements promoting a Tel-musici "dance music program" appeared as late as 1914; however, no further installations beyond Wilmington ever became active.
In 1912, Webb advocated for a comparable system called Magnaphone in New York City, offering subscribers recorded and other audio content for a monthly fee of eight dollars. The New York Magnaphone and Music Company secured a 25-year franchise covering Manhattan and parts of The Bronx but never implemented the infrastructure. Subsequently, J. J. Comer partnered with Chicago’s Automatic Electric Company on the Musolaphone project, which briefly operated in Chicago’s south side to deliver live news and entertainment via telephone lines to residences and commercial establishments.