The first sound recording instrument was the phonautograph, invented by the Frenchman Eduoard Leon-Scott in 1857. However, the recorded sound could not be played back. Twenty years later, Thomas Alva Edison invented the phonograph. By 1895, recording music became quite popular, spurring the start of the record industry.
With the use of electricity, this soon spread to music recordings. By 1904, electrical recording was possible with the inventions of the diode thermionic valve and the triode. Microphones were soon developed and by the mid-1920s, record companies began to use this form of recording music rather than phonographs.
This type of recording started when magnetic wire was soon replaced by magnetic tape. The use of this recording medium grew during and after World War II. Magnetic tape development was spearheaded by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, now known as 3M. Tape recorders were used to capture the audio.
Tape recorders and microphones still exist today as the main way of recording music, but are comprised of digital technology rather than magnetic tape. Digital tape recorders transfer files over to the computer generally by USB or memory cards. Music and sound are often stored on computers and can be digitally enhanced as well.