Re: Early computers. Yes, I think they were punch cards, although I seem to recall seeing a terminal.
Re: Blue Note. There was no animosity that I ever detected. Remember Blue Note, Riverside, Prestige, Atlantic, etc. were all labels started by record collectors who shared a deep interest in the music and had known each other for a long time. Nesuhi Ertegun came over to Riverside when I was editing my New Orleans sessions. He wanted to hear some of the tapes—nothing seemed odd or awkward about that. When Bill Grauer had his magazine, The Record Changer, much of it was devoted to collectors, who listed their discs for sale or swapping—Alfred Lion and the Ertegun brothers were regulars who listed there.
It was friendly competition.
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