The label of the record reads "Rebetiko". Often, in the glossary of rebetophiles, the term "rebetiko" is identified with very specific specifications. Rebetiko has been identified with the city-port of Piraeus, and its emblem is the bouzouki. On the other hand, rebetiko from Smyrna [Izmir] ("Smyrneiko rebetiko") is also often mentioned, either as a categorization of the genre, or as its precursor. And yet, historical discography, that is, the records that began to be produced from the end of the 19th century all over the world with primitive equipment and techniques, reveals a different reality. The research in this archival material of historical discography reveals that the term "rebetiko" began to be printed on the labels of the records around 1912, in Greek recordings that took place in Constantinople (Istanbul). So far, at least 80 recordings that are labeled with the term have been identified. There are two impressive facts: on the one hand, these recordings took place in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. Markos Vamvakaris started recording in Athens in 1933. So, his own recording career cannot be that easily and exclusively identified with the term. On the contrary, the word "rebetiko" began to disappear from labels after 1933. On the other hand, when listening to the musical works labeled as "rebetika", one might be surprised. None of these recordings contain a bouzouki. In addition, a part of the musical works is not oriented towards the East. Overall, the findings so far concern recordings made in Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens, New York and Chicago. It seems that the term was rather an invention of discography, of that early sound industry, whose decisions determined many times the developments regarding this historical repertoire and the way in which it reached us.

Για τη δισκογραφική εταιρεία Standard και τον ιδρυτή της Τέτο Δημητριάδη βλ. http://www.recordingpioneers.com και http://rebetiko.sealabs.net.