The primary individual behind the Tel-musici was inventor George R. Webb. In January 1908, while soliciting for investors, he arranged a demonstration of the concept at a
Baltimore hotel, where listeners telephoned a remote location with their requests, which were played back as "'10 cents' worth of
Lohengrin,' or 'a quarter's worth of ragtime'" to the assembled participants. Shortly thereafter, a Tel-musici company with a capitalization of $10,000 was incorporated in the state of Delaware by "a number of Baltimorians". In 1909 an operating Tel-musici system was established in
Wilmington, Delaware, with George Webb as the company president, and J. J. Comer the general manager. The music rooms' musical library was described as comprehensive and "embracing a complete line of all the latest productions". The charge was three cents for each requested standard tune, and seven cents for grand opera. Subscribers were required to guarantee purchases totaling $18 per year. Provisions were also made for transmitting a general program in lieu of individual requests. However, it does not appear that any additional installations became operational. In 1912, George Webb began promoting the similarly conceived Magnaphone system, established in
New York City, which was intended to transmit recording and other audio offerings to subscribers for eight dollars a month. The New York Magnaphone and Music Company was granted a twenty-five year franchise for operations "in the Borough of Manhattan and that part of the Borough of The Bronx west of the Bronx River", however, the franchise was never built. J. J. Comer would later participate, in conjunction with the
Automatic Electric Company of Chicago, with development of the
Musolaphone system, which briefly operated in southside Chicago, and which transmitted live news and entertainment to subscribing homes and businesses over telephone lines. ==References==