In January 1954, Billboard, the leading US music and entertainment journal, reported on an exclusive contract between the American record company Tempo Records and the government-owned radio station in Afghanistan, Radio Kabul. The contract guaranteed exclusive recording rights in Afghanistan. During a five-month trip around India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Irving Fogel, President of Tempo Records at the time, collected original indigenous music. The record company planned to release the records in Afghanistan and the United States, where universities and colleges showed particular interest in obtaining the recordings for their collections. Further use of the music by the television and motion picture industries was intended. 1.
