Development of sound technology in Hollywood- 1920s

 Sound-on-film technology occurred mid-decade and developed in 1926 - 1927, following experimental techniques begun in the late 1910s. Fox Studios and the Warner Brothers were crucial in the development and acceptance of the technology of sound in motion pictures.The primary steps in the commercialization of sound cinema were taken in the mid- to late 1920s.

In February 1927, an agreement was signed by five leading Hollywood movie companies: the so-called Big Two, Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a pair of studios in the next rank Universal and the fading First Nationaland Cecil B. DeMille's small but prestigious Producers Distributing Corporation (PDC). The five studios agreed to collectively select just one provider for sound conversion. In May, Warner Bros. sold back its exclusivity rights to ERPI  and signed a new royalty contract similar to Fox's for use of Western Electric technology. As Fox and Warners pressed forward with sound cinema in different directions, both technologically and commercially,Fox with newsreels and then scored dramas, Warners with talking features—so did ERPI, which sought to corner the market by signing up the five allied studios.