Whose Invention Was the Gramophone?

Emile Berliner developed the gramophone as an alternative to Thomas Edison's phonograph, which recorded sound on cylinders. Berliner's system recorded sound as a groove on flat discs, which were much easier to mass-produce. He received a US patent in 1887 and began selling gramophones and discs in the 1890s. His companies helped found major record labels, including Deutsche Grammophon and the Victor Talking Machine Company. Flat records dominated recorded music for most of the 20th century.