Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group . Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba , Matthias Reim , Helene Fischer , Brings , Höhner and Santiano .
31-597: On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Company founded Electrola GmbH in Nowawes near Berlin and received its record licence in December. In March 1931, through its parent company's merger with Lindström 's parent Columbia Gramophone Company to form EMI, Electrola thus became the merged entity's German subsidiary. Around 300 publications per month allowed Electrola's general catalogue to grow to 11,000 titles by 1934. At
62-702: A diameter of 25 cm and 4 minutes for a 30 cm diameter. There were about 4 grooves with a minimum width of 0.15 mm for every 1 mm. There was a regular spiral from the outside in. In the early days, Electrola recordings were often made at the Singakademie Berlin. In 1927 the first electrical reproduction was possible in Germany; Electrola was already producing electrically recorded records in England from 1925, and in Germany from spring 1926. The energetic reconstruction in Cologne
93-521: A product inferior to the Gramophone, which he called the Zonophone and began solely marketing that instead of the gramophone. Berliner cancelled his contract with The National Gramophone Company, and in turn was sued for breach of contract. In 1900, the U.S. parent of Gramophone lost a patent infringement suit brought on by Columbia Records and Zonophone , and was no longer permitted to produce records in
124-417: A recording frequency range of only 600 to 2000 Hz was possible, it was now between 100 and 5000 Hz. The number of revolutions was set consistently at 78 / min. Today those recordings that were made with the funnel are called "acoustic" recordings, everything later than "electrical" recordings. The shellac records used were fragile, had a speed of 78 rpm and a maximum playing time of approx. 3 minutes per side for
155-525: Is derived from the electrical recording process that was used for records from 1925 and is named after an electric record player from RCA Victor . Electrical recording meant turning away from the funnel to the microphone, to electrical needle recording and the corresponding playback. The advantages of "electrical recording" were higher volume, lower noise, no "funnel sound" on the recording side, extended frequency response, less bass and excessively center-stressed ("squeaky"), so overall more natural. Whereas before
186-422: Is now part of Warner Records. WEA acquired Teldec Records in 1988. Warner Classics was formed in 1991. The renamed Warner Music Group acquired Erato Records in 1992. Warner Music Group acquired the classical video company NVC Arts in 1994. The label developed a larger profile in 2013 when it absorbed EMI Classics (including Pye Records ' classical music catalogue) with that label's output absorbed into
217-411: Is thanks to Ladislaus Veder, who served as managing director until 1969. Jazz and classical music fan Max Ittenbach was appointed artistic director in 1956. Nils Nobach worked for Electrola from 1953 as a producer and composer (often under the pseudonym Peter Ström), who became one of the most prominent hit producers of the time. He produced Bibi Johns , Wolfgang Sauer, Fred Bertelmann , Conny (1957),
248-513: The 3-studio facility that would come to be known as EMI Recording Studios (and eventually Abbey Road Studios ) opened on 12 November 1931. In March 1931, Gramophone merged with the English Columbia Graphophone Company to form Electric and Musical Industries Ltd (EMI). The "Gramophone Company, Ltd." name, however, continued to be used for many decades, especially for copyright notices on records. Gramophone Company of India
279-722: The Edison machine and substitute a Gramophone, which he did. In 1900, Emile Berliner acquired the US rights to the painting and it became the trademark of the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901; the UK rights were retained by the Gramophone Company. Victor utilized the Nipper trademark far more aggressively than the Gramophone Company, first using it on their record labels in 1902. Nipper
310-459: The Elektra Nonesuch, Finlandia, Lontano, NVC Arts, Warner Apex, Warner Elatus and Warner Fonit labels. What was then known as Warner Bros.-Seven Arts , which owned Warner Bros. Records and Atlantic Records , acquired Elektra Records in 1969 which included Elektra's Nonesuch Records classical music label. This led to the formation of WEA, the forerunner of Warner Music Group . Nonesuch
341-522: The Gramophone Company introduced new labels featuring the famous trademark known as " His Master's Voice ", generally referred to in the UK as HMV, to distinguish them from earlier labels which featured the Recording Angel trademark. The latter had been designed by Theodore Birnbaum, an executive of the Gramophone Company pressing plant in Hanover, Germany . While the general public in the UK came to refer to
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#1732856001381372-659: The Munich location was closed in April 2004, the Virgin label was merged with the Berlin-based labels Mute and Labels. Since then, the company has been operating at the two locations in Cologne and Berlin. Initially, EMI Music Germany was based at three locations in Munich (Virgin), Cologne ( Capitol with pop and EMI Classics and Blue Note for jazz) and Berlin (Labels Germany and Mute); Virgin Records
403-718: The Nilsen Brothers (1958), Angèle Durand , Gitte Hænning , Rex Gildo (March 1959), and Adamo (1964). In November 1961 Nobach left Electrola and Heinz Gietz took over the position of production manager for pop. Its debut was the "Hämmerchen-Polka", sung by Chris Howland in November 1961. Under his direction, the super hits " Zwei kleine Italiener " and "Lady Sunshine and Mister Moon" with Conny Froboess, " Speedy Gonzales " with Rex Gildo, "Motorbiene" with Benny Quick , and another of his own compositions, "Mimi Never Goes to Bed" with Bill Ramsey , were created under his direction in 1962
434-627: The U.S. The agreement allowed Columbia to produce disc records themselves in the United States, which they began doing in 1901, with the UK Gramophone Company and others continuing to do so outside of the US. Emile Berliner established Berliner Gramophone in Montreal , where he became Victor's Canadian distributor and held the rights in Canada to the "His Master's Voice" trademark. In February 1909,
465-507: The UK into the 1970s. The Gramophone Company was founded in April 1898 by William Barry Owen and Edmund Trevor Lloyd Wynne Williams , commissioned by Emil Berliner, in London. Owen was acting as agent for Emile Berliner , inventor of the gramophone record , whilst Williams provided the finances. Most of the company's early discs were made in Hanover, Germany at a plant operated by members of Berliner's family, though it had operations around
496-737: The United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner , was one of the early recording companies , the parent organisation for the His Master's Voice (HMV) label, and the European affiliate of the American Victor Talking Machine Company . Although the company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1931 to form Electric and Musical Industries Limited (EMI), its name "The Gramophone Company Limited" continued in
527-421: The dog lived from 1884 to 1895 and is honoured in England with a celebrated grave marker. In the mid-1920s, company chairman Trevor Osmond Williams approved funding for the company to secure property and build a recording studio, putting F. H. Dart from the company's technical recording department in charge of the project. Number 3 Abbey Road was acquired in 1929 and, after nearly 2 years of extensive renovations,
558-640: The end of 1939 Electrola - like the other German record labels - came under National Socialist administration . As a result, the most typical US jazz song "In the Mood" was no longer released. Recorded on 1 August 1939 it was released in the United States in September. During the Second World War, 80 per cent of the facilities in the German subsidiaries were destroyed, making it impossible to resume production immediately after
589-652: The former EMI Music Germany from Cologne to Berlin later in December, with Electrola moved to Munich. However, the EC compelled UMG to divest itself of EMI Classics, which operated with other European EMI assets to be divested as the Parlophone Label Group (PLG). In February 2013, UMG sold PLG, including EMI Classics, to Warner Music Group (WMG). The EC approved the deal in May, and WMG took control of EMI Classics on 1 July, ceding it to Warner Classics . The company name "Electrola"
620-704: The recording apparatus. [1] Marjorie Hayward, violin I Edwin Virgo, violin II Raymond Jeremy, viola Cedric Sharpe. cello Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group . The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records and Teldec Records labels. Based in France, Warner Classics also distributes
651-475: The records and company as "His Master's Voice" or "HMV" because of the prominence of the phrase on the record labels, The Gramophone Company was never officially known as the HMV or His Master's Voice Company. The painting "His Master's Voice" was made in the 1890s with the dog Nipper listening to an Edison cylinder phonograph . In 1899, Owen bought the painting from Francis Barraud, the artist, and asked him to paint out
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#1732856001381682-574: The top seller of the year. Gietz left Electrola in 1965, but continued to produce Electrola performers as a freelance producer (including the Lords ). In 1968 the Cornet label, owned by Gietz, released the first record with the title "Mer schenken dä Ahl e couple Blömcher" from the Kölsch dialect group De Bläck Fööss . Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited ( The Gramophone Co. Ltd. ), based in
713-476: The two independently operating companies Thorn plc and EMI Group and listed on the British Stock Exchange. In June 1992, Thorn EMI bought the previously independent record label Virgin Records for a purchase price of US$ 957 million, ending intense competition for the company, which had many of the best-selling artists under contract. In January 1994 another independent German company Intercord Tonträger
744-567: The war. Electrola decided - not least because of the uncertain situation in Berlin - to move completely to Cologne. On the site of the former Atlantic Gummi-Werke Aloys Weyers KG in Cologne-Braunsfeld, Maarweg 149, an area that could be expanded was found. The company was founded here in Cologne by being entered in the commercial register on 13 February 1952; the official relocation to Cologne took place on 8 September 1953. A modern recording studio
775-636: The world. In 1898, Fred Gaisberg moved from the U.S. to London to set up the first disc recording studio in Europe; it was situated in Maiden Lane. Among early artists he recorded was Syria Lamont , an Australian soprano whose single "Coming through the Rye" was one of the first ever issued. In December 1900, Owen gained the manufacturing rights for the Lambert Typewriter Company , and the Gramophone Company
806-462: Was absorbed into Labels and Mute in 2004. The centre of the German record industry, however, was Hamburg with the record labels Polydor , Teldec ( Telefunken / Decca ), Philips and Metronome. After Electrola and the rest of EMI's German operations were sold to Universal Music Group (UMG) on 21 September 2012, when the European Commission (EC) gave its approval to the sale, UMG relocated
837-582: Was added, with which EMI was able to further expand its artist base, in 2000 the Intercord location in Stuttgart was closed, and the repertoire was mainly transferred to EMI Electrola GmbH & Co KG. In August 2000 the company moved from Maarweg to Cologne's media centre - the Mediapark; the data centre followed in December 2002. Earlier in spring 2002 EMI Electrola was renamed EMI Music Germany GmbH & Co. KG. After
868-618: Was also set up in 1966. This was the last investment by the Carl Lindström-Gesellschaft, which was merged into EMI Electrola GmbH on 30 November 1972. After a merger of EMI Ltd. with the British company Thorn Electrical Industries to Thorn EMI Ltd. in October 1979 but not acknowledged until 3 March 1980, the large corporation, represented in over 40 countries, was split in August 1996 into
899-472: Was for a few years renamed the Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. This was an attempt to diversify the business model, in response to a series of lawsuits by Edison Bell . The Berliner Gramophone Company was hit the hardest with a lawsuit that involved a former employee, Frank Seaman. Berliner had hired Seaman, part of The National Gramophone Company, to handle the distribution of record players and disk as an exclusive sales agent. In secret, he started producing
930-410: Was formed in 1946. The Gramophone Company Ltd legal entity was renamed EMI Records Ltd. in 1973. After EMI was acquired by Universal Music, the company was renamed to Parlophone Records Ltd. and taken over by Warner Music. From the 1890s to mid-1925, recordings were made without any electrical equipment, relying instead upon the energy inherent in the sound waves generated by the performers, to activate
961-437: Was opened in 1956 on Maarweg in Cologne - where the records were also made - with all the associated technical rooms. In these studios all hits from Fred Bertelmann to Conny Froboess and Gitte Hænning , but also the last recordings with Marlene Dietrich up to the era of Herbert Grönemeyer , were produced. When the compact cassette came onto the market as a new sound carrier in 1965, an in-house music cassette (MC) production