For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and the Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American recorded sound. Ĭolumbia began selling disc records, invented and patented by Victor Talking Machine Company's Emile Berliner, and phonographs in addition to the cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their 'Toy Graphophone' of 1899, which used small, vertically cut records. The molded brown waxes may have been sold to Sears for distribution (possibly under Sears' Oxford trademark for Columbia products). According to one source, they continued to mold brown waxes until 1904 with the highest number being 32601, 'Heinie', which is a duet by Arthur Collins and Byron G. Columbia introduced black wax records in 1903. In 1902, Columbia introduced the 'XP' record, a molded brown wax record, to use up old stock. Thereafter it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. As was the custom of some of the regional phonograph companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own, and its catalogue of musical records in 1891 was 10 pages.Ĭolumbia's ties to Edison and the North American Phonograph Company were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Company's breakup. At first it had a local monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Delaware.

It derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. Easton (1856–1915) and a group of investors. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded on January 15, 1889, by stenographer, lawyer, and New Jersey native Edward D. A Columbia type AT cylinder graphophone produced in 1898 The American label of an electrically recorded Columbia disc by Art Gillham from the mid-1920s History Beginnings (1889–1929) The original home of Columbia in Washington, D.C., in 1889 the company was named after the city. 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 it’s 2008 relaunch after Sony’s acquisition alongside other BMG labels.

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 the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. January 15, 1889 134 years ago ( ) (as Columbia Phonograph Company) in Washington, D.C.Ĭolumbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony.

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Inc.

Red seal records