How did they mass produce those old cylinder records?
I’ve been told that before the phonograph, popular musical pieces were longer (dance tunes lasted 5-7 minutes) and became shortened to around 3 only to fit onto Edison cylinders and then 78rpm platters. I haven’t run across confirmation of this, however. I do recall one of my folks’ old swing records on which a continuous performance spanned both sides of the 78.
Some longer pop selections appeared when LPs began to replace 45s, but they were relatively unpopular due to the existing format of radio, which evolved around “singles,” and were mostly relegated to late nights. So the technological limitations of the media had a profound effect upon the art.
Once the Internet made it possible for me to delve into the mysteries of now-dead media formats, I was surprised to learn that the LP was indirectly derived from a format developed to play as long on one side as a reel of motion picture film.