Long before they were used for computers, rigid and floppy magnetic discs were used for audio recording. Pye sold record players and radiograms with the 'Record Maker' electronics and interchangeable pickup head which allowed the home user to record on a pre-grooved disc coated with magnetic compound. The recording could then be played back through the loudspeaker as if it were a gramophone record. Any of the four normal record speeds could be used for recording, but most users chose the slowest for economy and then were disappointed by the poor sound quality.

Telefunken also made a magnetic disc machine, but it was a standalone model with a single fixed speed of 10 rpm.

Some machines erased the old recording as a new recording was made, the Pye Record Maker came with a magnetic bar which was wiped across the magnetic surface of the record to erase it. The latter type had a noiser background to the recordings.

Poppy Records has a playback system which can cope with a wide variety of magnetic discs of different sizes and playback speeds.