PolyGram Classics & Jazz
| Philips Records | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Founder | Koninklijke Philips B.V. |
| Distributor(s) | Decca Music Group |
| Genre | Various (historic) Classical music (current) |
| Country of origin | Netherlands |
| Official website | www |
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. In 1946 Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in Amsterdam.
The record label was started as "Philips Phonographische Industrie" (PPI) in June 1950 when it began issuing classical recordings. Recordings were also made of popular artists of various nationalities and of classical artists from Germany, France and the Netherlands. Launched under the slogan "Records of the Century" (referring to Philips Industries' UK Head Office at Century House, W1), the first releases in Britain appeared in January 1953 on 10" 78 rpm discs, with LPs appearing in July 1954.
Philips also distributed recordings made by Columbia Records (which at the time was a unit of CBS) in the UK and on the European continent. After the separation of the English Columbia label (owned by EMI) and American Columbia, Philips also started distributing original Columbia recordings on the Philips label in the UK.
The first batch of eight singles releases in 1953 included British artists such as Gilbert Harding, Flanagan & Allen and Gracie Fields, followed by American Columbia recording artists Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray. The first single on the label to chart was Frankie Laine's "I Believe", which reached the No. 1 chart position in the UK that April. Many of the first British recordings on the label were produced by Norman Newell until John Franz was appointed artists and repertoire (A&R) manager in 1954.
In 1958 Philips created a subsidiary label, Fontana Records, which meant that American-Columbia recordings were being issued on both the Philips and Fontana labels. This arrangement lasted until April 1962, when, under pressure from Columbia in America, Philips then created a third label for them, CBS Records (it could not name the label Columbia as the copyright for that name had long been owned by EMI). In late 1964, under the stewardship of U.S. President of Columbia Records Goddard Lieberson, CBS Records formed its own international operations, adopting the name of its then parent CBS. CBS Records set up their UK operation in Theobalds Road in Holborn. Singles and albums on the Philips and Fontana labels by Columbia-owned product were subsequently withdrawn.
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Wikipedia