Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an important American record label that has been making music for over 130 years. It was started on January 15, 1889, and it is the oldest brand still making records today. Now, it is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is part of the big company called Sony.

Columbia Records is one of the four main labels under Sony Music. The other three are Epic Records, RCA Records, and Arista Records. Before 2008, RCA and Arista were owned by a different company called BMG, but then Sony bought them.

Because it has been around so long, Columbia Records has helped many famous musicians share their music with the world. It is a big part of music history and keeps making new music today.

History

Beginnings (1888–1929)

The Columbia Phonograph Company started on January 15, 1889, founded by Edward D. Easton and a group of investors. It was named after the District of Columbia, where its headquarters were located. Initially, the company sold and serviced Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Delaware. It also made its own recordings, with a catalog of musical records that was 10 pages long by 1891.

In 1894, Columbia ended its ties with Edison and began making its own records and phonographs. By 1901, it started selling disc records invented by Emile Berliner, and also offered phonographs beyond just the cylinder system. For a decade, Columbia was one of the top three names in American sound recording, competing with Edison and Victor Talking Machine Company.

Columbia Phonograph Company ownership (1925–1931)

In late 1922, Columbia went into receivership. In 1925, it was bought by its UK subsidiary, the Columbia Graphophone Company. That same year, Columbia began using an electric recording process licensed from Western Electric, which improved the quality of records. The company also acquired Okeh Records in 1926, adding jazz and blues artists like Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams to its roster. By 1927, bandleader Guy Lombardo and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman had joined Columbia. In 1928, Frank Buckley Walker started some of the first country music recordings in Tennessee.

Columbia ownership separation (1931–1936)

The Great Depression caused financial trouble for the entire recording industry. In 1931, Columbia Graphophone merged with the Gramophone Company to form EMI. However, EMI had to sell off its US Columbia operation to avoid antitrust issues. In 1931, the U.S. Columbia Phonograph Company was bought by Grigsby-Grunow Company, which later went bankrupt. In 1934, Sacro Enterprises Inc. purchased Columbia for $70,000. Many believe Sacro was a shell corporation set up by Consolidated Films Industries, Inc. to hold the Columbia stock.

In 1936, Columbia signed an exclusive contract with the Chuck Wagon Gang, a southern gospel group that became very successful. The group sold millions of records for Columbia. In 1935, Herbert M. Greenspon, an 18-year-old shipping clerk, helped organize the first trade union shop at Columbia's main factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1937, Columbia hired John Hammond, who discovered and promoted many famous jazz, blues, and folk artists.

CBS takes over (1938–1947)

In 1938, CBS acquired ARC, which included Columbia Records. In 1939, CBS moved its studios to New York City. During the 1940s, Frank Sinatra recorded for Columbia, significantly boosting the company's revenue. Other popular artists included Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Jimmie Lunceford.

The LP record (1948–1959)

In 1948, Columbia introduced the Long Playing (LP) record format, which rotated at 33⅓ revolutions per minute. This new format quickly became the standard for gramophone records. The first LP was Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto played by Nathan Milstein. Columbia's LPs were especially popular for classical music, but they also released albums by popular artists like Frank Sinatra.

The 1950s

In 1951, Columbia began issuing records in the 45 rpm format. The same year, Ted Wallerstein retired as Columbia Records chairman. Columbia became very successful in the 1950s, especially after signing Mitch Miller, who brought in artists like Tony Bennett, Mahalia Jackson, and Johnny Mathis. In 1953, Columbia formed Epic Records. In 1954, Columbia introduced its modern "Walking Eye" logo.

The 1960s

In 1961, CBS formed CBS Records International. In 1961, Mitch Miller became the host of the TV show "Sing Along with Mitch," which promoted his popular "Singalong" albums. In 1961, John Hammond signed Bob Dylan to Columbia. Dylan became one of Columbia's most successful artists, influencing many other musicians.

The 1970s

In 1975, Walter Yetnikoff became president of Columbia Records. In 1976, Columbia Records of Canada was renamed CBS Records Canada. In 1979, Columbia began using digital recording technology.

The 1980s and sale to Sony

In 1988, Sony acquired the CBS Records Group, including Columbia Records. Sony renamed the parent division Sony Music Entertainment in 1991. The CBS Records label was officially renamed Columbia Records worldwide in 1991.

The 1990s–present

Columbia Records remains a major label under Sony Music Entertainment. As of December 2025, Columbia has over a hundred artists across various genres, including Addison Rae, Adele, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, and Hozier. In 2018, Ron Perry was named chairman and CEO of Columbia Records, and in 2023, Jennifer Mallory was appointed president.

Logos and branding

Columbia Records had to decide which logo to use after getting the rights to the Columbia trademarks. In the 1990s, they often used just the word "COLUMBIA" in a special font called Bodoni Classic Bold. They tried using the "Notes and Mic" logo for jazz music but without the old CBS mark on the microphone. This logo is still used for the "Columbia Jazz" series.

In the late 1990s, they chose the "Walking Eye" logo, which was previously used outside North America, as Columbia's main logo worldwide, except in Japan. In Japan, a different company called Nippon Columbia still uses the "Magic Notes" logo. There, CBS/Sony Records changed its name to Sony Records in 1991 and stopped using the "Walking Eye" logo in 1998.

List of Columbia Records artists

Main article: List of Columbia Records artists

In October 2012, 85 artists were signed to Columbia Records. By December 2025, this number grew to 165 artists.

Subsidiaries

Columbia Records has several smaller music labels that work closely with it. These include Kemosabe Records, Small Giant Records, CloudBoy Records, Signal Records, Heavy Muscle, and CMV: Columbia Music Video. These labels help Columbia Records find and support different kinds of musicians and artists.

Affiliated labels

In January 2006, Sony BMG UK split into two groups. The Columbia Label Group focused on rock, dance, and alternative music. Some of its artists include Calvin Harris, George Ezra, Central Cee, and Robbie Williams. It also worked with labels like Ministry of Sound Records.

In August 1978, Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire brought back the American Recording Company (ARC). ARC had artists like R&B singer Deniece Williams, jazz group Weather Report, and R&B trio the Emotions.

In 1997, Columbia started working with Aware Records to share music. They kept working together in 2002.

In 2007, Columbia created Columbia Nashville, which became part of Sony Music Nashville. This let Columbia Nashville manage itself separately from Columbia in New York City. In 2009, Columbia Nashville joined Sony Music Nashville under the Sony Group Corporation umbrella through Sony Music Group.

Recording studios

Columbia Records had many famous recording studios in cities like New York City, Nashville, Hollywood, and San Francisco. Their first studio opened in 1913 after moving into the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, which was the tallest building in the world at the time. In 1917, they made one of the earliest jazz records there.

Some of their well-known studios included Studio A in New York, built in 1939, and Studio B and Studio E at the CBS Studio Building on 52nd Street. In 1948, they opened Studios C and D at 30th Street, known for having great sound quality. They also had studios in Hollywood, Chicago, and Nashville, where they recorded many famous songs over the years.

Main article: CBS Studio Building Main article: CBS 30th Street Studio See also: CBS Columbia Square See also: Bradley Studios

Executives

Columbia Records has many important leaders who help run the company. Some of these leaders include Ron Perry, who is the chairman and CEO, and Edward Wallerstein, who was chairman and CEO from 1939 to 1951. There are also other leaders like Jenifer Mallory, Stephen Russo, and Abou "Bu" Thiam who help manage different parts of the business.