What did The Gramophone Company Fred Gaisberg do at 31 Maiden Lane?

The Story

# 31 Maiden Lane In August 1898, Fred Gaisberg and The Gramophone Company made history by opening Europe's first disc recording studio in this very building on Maiden Lane, transforming the landscape of recorded music forever. This unassuming address in Covent Garden became the birthplace of a technological revolution, where pioneering artists would climb the stairs to capture their performances onto wax cylinders and discs, their voices preserved for audiences across the continent who had never heard such clarity before. Gaisberg's vision at this location shifted the recording industry from a curiosity confined to America into a thriving European enterprise, establishing London as a vital hub for capturing and distributing the sounds of the world's greatest performers. Standing at this plaque today, you're looking at the exact spot where the modern recording studio was born—a humble address that quietly became the foundation upon which the global music industry would be built.