I don't know why 78rpm became the standard of the record industry, but I do know that the faster the record revolves-as with audio and video tape, likewise-the clearer reproduction is achieved. The drawback was that that speed severely limited the time of recording to about 3 minutes for a 10" platter, and only somewhat longer for a 12" disk.

Attempts to slow the RPM caused lots of distortion. So in the late 1940s RCA and CBS tried to find a solution. RCA developed a 45rpm process, CBS the 33-1/3rpm. This was made possible by their technologies that allowed for fidelity at lower speeds. It turned out that both formats were able to survive; 45 became the standard for singles (and 4 song EPs for awhile) while 33-1/3 replaced the old multidisk albums. Eventually, 78s became obsolete. 16rpm was used primarily for talking books of the sight impaired and similar uses.

A side note on EPs: Often a label would produce a 33 album AND a 45 EP of the most popular cuts from the album.

John