Columbia Records

Not to be confused with Columbia Record.
For the former British record company, see Columbia Graphophone Company.

Columbia Records
Logo since 1999
Parent company
FoundedJanuary 22, 1889; 135 years ago (1889-01-22) (as Columbia Phonograph Company) in Washington, D.C.
FounderEdward D. Easton
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
LocationNew York City
Official websitecolumbiarecords.com

Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Music Group, the American division of multinational conglomerate Sony. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business,[3][4][5] and the second major company to produce records.[6] From 1961 to 1991, its recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels: Epic Records, and former longtime rivals, RCA Records and Arista Records as the latter two were originally owned by BMG before its 2008 relaunch after Sony's acquisition alongside other BMG labels.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference saleclosed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYSC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 17, 1955. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ Ben Sisario (October 30, 2012). "From One Mine, the Gold of Pop History". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "125 Years of Columbia Records – An Interactive Timeline". Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "Emile Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry: The Gramophone". Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Labels – Sony Music".