By the early 1930s, most record companies had stopped recording orchestras because the discs sold poorly. Victor had contracts with several classical artists that also were not selling well, and the executives of RCA, Victor's parent company, had concluded that the future of classical music lay in broadcasting, not recorded sound.
Charles O'Connell, the music director of Victor, was not ready to give up on recordings. He was convinced that a shrewd selection of artists and repertory would turn a profit for the company. He took his ideas to Arthur Judson, the man who had played a key part in securing the Minneapolis job for Ormandy. Through Judson, O'Connell learned that the Minneapolis Symphony's labor contract specified a certain number of service hours each week, and those hours could be spent however management pleased. Orchestra members were paid at the same rate for a recording session that would earn the orchestra tens of thousands of dollars as they were for a pops concert rehearsal.
In January 1934, O'Connell took a recording crew to Minneapolis and over the course of eleven days recorded the orchestra performing repertory of his choosing - a mix of popular warhorses and new repertory. Through the careful selection of repertory and the strength of the performances, the recordings proved a success for Victor and brought the work of Ormandy and the orchestra international acclaim. While the performers did not profit from the recordings, the strong sales did secure the orchestra's financial health for years to come.