Seventy years ago, if you wanted to get into show biz, or at least a small niche thereof, you couldn’t go wrong by starting your own recording business, as shown in this ad for the Home Recording Products Corp., 56 Mill Road, Freeport, NY, in the October 1950 issue of Radio Best magazine.

The possibilities seemed unlimited, and the investment was only $79.95–$10 down, with the balance plus shipping C.O.D.

You would get a professional recording unit (worth $135) capable of cutting both 78 and 33 RPM records, along with carrying case, microphone, mike stand, headphones, and complete instructions. It even came with enough blank records to get back your investment immediately, and additional blanks were available wholesale. With low overhead, you could make recordings for a tiny fraction of the cost of a recording studio.

The possibilities were unlimited. You could connect with a local photographer and make recordings of the children being photographed. Local musicians would want you to cut demo records for them. School bands would want records, and there was potential for a huge volume of business on holidays, as families sent records to loved ones. Even local clergymen would want their sermons recorded.

You would get display cards to put up at local stores to advertise, and you would get sample ads to run in your local newspaper. You could even rent out the unit for use as a public address system.