The telephone was once thought to be the perfect medium for transmitting music. Thomas H. White at earlyradiohistory.us writes, “At the 1881 Paris International Electrical Exhibition, Clement Ader demonstrated the transmission of music from local theaters using telephone lines. Ader's use of dual lines also introduced the phenomenon of stereo listening -- at the time referred to as ‘binauriclar auduition’ [sic]”*
An entertainment information service called "Telefon Hirmond" was created by Tivadar Pusk in Budapest that began operation February 15, 1893. It featured continuous news reports, literature read by readers, and other audio.
Various attempts to broadcast music over the telephone were attempted and contemplated into the early 1920s with limited success with names such as England’s “Electrophone”, “The Telephone Newspaper”, “Phone Newspaper Service”, and “The Talking Ticker”.
(*For more, see: United States Early Radio History by Thomas H White)
