While the Loudness War is indeed a race to the bottom for the dynamic quality of audio, it would have occurred sooner if the medium for recorded music had allow

While the Loudness War is indeed a race to the bottom for the dynamic quality of audio, it would have occurred sooner if the medium for recorded music had allowed for it. Vinyl records simply cannot go as loud as today's modern records because of physical limitations in the medium. Nevertheless, for 70+ years producers, record executives, and artists have been using every sonic trick at their disposal to make their record "pop" and stand out from the competition. The advent of digital audio simply opened up more headroom with which to push the record.