The term “Red Book” is the standard for audio CDs (Compact Disc Digital Audio system, CDDA or CD-DA). It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books (bound in different colors) that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats. The first edition of the “Red Book” was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony and adopted by the Digital Audio Disc Committee. In 1987 the “Red Book” was published.

Source: princeton.edu